'I can-cer vive...'
By Cheryl McCormack
Editor
“Cancer teaches you to treasure each moment, to give love freely, to find courage, to develop strength, to discover your faith.”
For Marcia Stiefel, Bismarck, the above quote has become her reality. The 68-year-old is battling stage-four glioblastoma brain cancer, clinging to faith and family to find the strength to fight for her life.
Stiefel is the mother of Cory Thrall, pastor of the Missouri Valley Parish, which includes the Washburn United Methodist Church.
This isn't Stiefel's first “boxing match” with the disease. In 2008, while working as an administrative assistant, she learned that her husband, John, had a tumor on the left side of his brain.
Upon receiving the diagnosis, Stiefel quit her job to provide 24-hour care for her ailing husband. John fought a courageous six-month battle, but succumbed to the disease in March of 2009.
