09/19/2025
Mark and Kimberly Stubbolo moved to Iowa for a simpler life, but in 2021, Kimberly was diagnosed with cancer. For the next two years, the couple sought treatment at facilities big and small, both near and far. Kimberly eventually succumbed to the disease in August 2023, but one thought remains with Mark.
“What we really needed was compassion. It’s as important as your brick and mortar and cutting-edge technology.”
The couple's journey included a premier hospital in the Midwest, where they received a poor prognosis and felt judged for choosing a different path that prioritized Kimberly's quality of life. The cancer team started Kimberly on hormone therapy, which Mark recalls as "kind of a Hail Mary at that point."
“Kimberly had a different cancer 10 years before. With cancer, sometimes the treatments are worse than the disease. She suffered a lot, and her whole philosophy this time around was quality of life, not quantity of life.”
When they told the doctor at the premier hospital they wanted to stop treatments, Mark says, "The doctor got really angry." When they returned home, they continued to rely on their hometown UnityPoint Health clinic, where they found the compassionate care that mattered most from family medicine provider Dr. Steve Scurr. The clinic team helped them supplement her care needs and, eventually, coordinate with hospice.
“When we came back to Dr. Scurr, he had no judgment against her, and that was huge,” Mark says. “He was in her corner. You know, we wanted what was best for her, and he understood that. We were not just a number here.”
Mark adds, “I've been to major medical centers with the two cancers and UnityPoint Health has something. The care was professional … but way beyond professional. They were compassionate.”
This compassion was a hallmark of their experience. Mark remembers a late-stage appointment when Kimberly was putting on a brave face. Longtime nurse Ronda Neher, however, saw through it, counseling Kimberly and advising Mark on what was to come.
“She knew Kimberly needed help right then, and I felt like I could call them anytime,” Mark says. “If you have to go through something like that, we were very blessed to have gone through it with the people we had around us.”
