Supporters raise money for Troy police Lt. Josh Bowers after brain cancer diagnosis
Bowers, 37, an Army veteran and afternoon-shift patrol leader for Troy police, was diagnosed with glioblastoma on Oct. 10 and had surgery three days later. An online fundraiser is helping his family.
By OCJ Staff
Supporters are rallying around Troy police Lt. Josh Bowers, a 37-year-old Army veteran who was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, on Oct. 10, The Oakland Press reported.
Bowers had a headache and confusion before the diagnosis, the paper reported. He met with a neurosurgeon Oct. 12 and had surgery the next day at Corewell Health in Royal Oak. He is now recovering at home. Sgt. Michael Grosso told The Oakland Press that Bowers was able to walk out on Oct. 15 and that his strength is starting to come back. He will meet with specialists in the coming weeks, the paper reported.
"We are fighting for more time," his sister, Shelbie Stefko, wrote in the description of an online fundraiser, according to The Oakland Press.
Army, then Troy police
Bowers, a Lake Orion High School graduate, served as an Army captain leading a team that found and disarmed improvised explosive devices, according to The Oakland Press. After leaving the Army he worked a year as a civilian police service aide in the Troy police lockup, then graduated with honors from the Macomb Community College police academy in 2017.
He was promoted to sergeant in 2023 and lieutenant in March 2026, and now serves as a patrol leader for the afternoon shift. He has also served on the Oakland County hazmat team and as a training officer and evidence technician. In May, he graduated from the School of Police Staff and Command, a 10-week program at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety.
Grosso, who has worked with Bowers since 2017, described him as a problem solver who leads by example and has always had a drive to help others. "Now he's on the other side of it," Grosso said, adding that he hopes people will help.
How to help
The fundraiser, "The Bowers Family - Josh," is at supportnow.org/the-bowers-family-josh. The Oakland Press reported that state corrections department staff organized it and that it had raised more than $4,800 as of Oct. 16. The fundraiser page itself lists Stefko and Bowers' wife, Meghan, a Michigan Department of Corrections probation agent, as organizers.
The Oakland Press also reported that meal and household-item donations are being coordinated through a corrections department probation agent, though the fundraiser page says meal support is not requested. Check the fundraiser page for the family's current requests.
Sources: The Oakland Press, "Community rallies around Troy police lieutenant battling cancer," by Mallory Waligora (Oct. 21, 2026); "The Bowers Family - Josh" fundraiser page on SupportNow (read Oct. 21, 2026).