NHL Prospect Austin Roest, Girlfriend Share Emotional Update on Her Cancer

NHL prospect Austin Roest and his girlfriend, Milly Okabe, shared a heartbreaking update after she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.

"They've said it's incurable," Okabe, 22, exclusively told Us on Tuesday, September 15. "However, I'm starting my treatment already, and I'm going to do everything I can health-wise and just keep fighting."

Okabe announced she was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that starts in the glands that line the organs, earlier this month.

"It was so unexpected," Okabe recalled to Us. "Austin actually plays a big role in how I found out. I had some flu-like symptoms, so I went to the hospital. They thought it was just the flu, so they sent me home. But Austin looked at me and said, ‘This might be something else. I want you to get looked at further.'"

Okabe shared that she and Roest, 22, went to "a couple of doctors who kind of said the same thing." She was prescribed antibiotics for pneumonia and "lived my life completely fine for six weeks."

"I went back for a follow-up scan, and they saw that the pneumonia hadn't quite cleared up, so that's when they got the ball rolling," Okabe explained. "They were like, ‘OK, let's get a CT scan. But it's probably nothing. It's probably scar tissue from something else.'"

She continued, "We do the CT scan, and they found a couple of masses in my lungs and chest. That's how we found out."

Roest - who was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft - said his "gut instinct" about Okabe's initial diagnosis inspired the couple to be proactive about what was really going on.

"When she gets sick, she gets really sick," he told Us. "Not just normal flu, she's in bed for quite a long time. That's kind of what intrigued me to be like, ‘This might be something more than just the flu.' When we went to the first doctor and he said it was a flu, I knew for sure it wasn't that."

For now, Okabe said she's doing her best to "feel good mentally."

"If you asked me a month ago, it probably wouldn't be the same thing," she acknowledged. "But I've just gotten so much support, it's hard not to put a smile on my face. Austin has been so selfless and caring and amazing. When he's off the ice, he's always texting me like, ‘What can I do for you? Are you OK?'"

A GoFundMe organized to support Okabe in her fight has raised nearly $70,000.

"It's been quite overwhelming with hockey going on and stuff," said Roest, who is currently participating in the Predators' training camp. "But I think that's kind of what's helping me get through all of this, just seeing all of the support and all of the people reaching out. It's been really cool."

Okabe said the reach of her story has been surprising "in the best way possible."

"I've received messages from people around the world," she said. "Cancer survivors have reached out and given me advice and so much hope and faith. Everyone has been so kind."

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This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 10:22 AM.