John Schroeder, the singer of legendary D.C. hardcore band Government Issue better known as John Stabb, has been diagnosed with malignant stomach cancer after a series of hospital visits over the past month.

Schroeder, who has been singing in post-punk band History Repeated, believed he had appendicitis the night of the band’s Jan. 19th show at Comet Ping Pong, according to a post on the band’s Facebook page. He was back home on the 22nd, but was rushed back to the hospital on the 29th, where doctors performed emergency surgery to remove two tumors from his GI track. According to his partner, Mina Devadas, Stabb told the doctors at the time: “Just take care of this shit. We’ve got things to do.”

Now, Schroeder will undergo cancer treatment, although it is unclear what stage the cancer was in when doctors discovered it. Schroeder is a punk, and punks are fighters. We suspect he’ll give the cancer all it can handle, and then some. In the meantime, you can donate to help cover his costs, and Devadas’ time off from work, here. 

Update, 9:34 a.m.: Arts Desk spoke with Kevin Young, a longtime friend of Schroeder’s who is managing the fundraising campaign to help cover his medical and living expenses. At this moment, Schroeder is at Holy Cross Hospital, recovering from extensive surgery. They don’t know much more about the cancer, other than it’s malignant and serious. “Right now, we are just trying to keep his mind focused on recovering from his surgery,” Young said.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery