A firefighter in Baltimore has shared the apparently innocuous symptoms he experienced before being diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer on Valentine’s Day
Steve Dorsey, 56, told the New York Post that his swallowing issues were “very benign,” but that his health issues “progressively just started getting worse, where it was very difficult to eat anything, basically, without regurgitating it back up”
“You go through all those different stages of shock, disbelief, anger,” he previously told WMAR 2 News of his reaction to the diagnosis
A firefighter in Baltimore is speaking out about the “benign” symptom he noticed before he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.
Steve Dorsey — who has worked for the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) for 21 years, following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps — learned of his diagnosis on Valentine’s Day of this year, local ABC-affiliated station WMAR 2 News previously confirmed.
While speaking to the New York Post, the 56-year-old, who is currently on medical leave while undergoing chemotherapy, revealed some of the symptoms he noticed before the diagnosis, which also confirmed the disease had spread to his lymph nodes and liver.
The firefighter, who is part of BCFD’s Engine 57 team in Curtis Bay, said everything had been fine health-wise until he started to have some trouble swallowing in January, per The Post.
He told the outlet his issues were “very benign” at first, and sometimes he’d have to have a drink to help wash food down.
BCFD Engine 57/Facebook
Baltimore City Fire Department Engine 57
“It progressively just started getting worse, where it was very difficult to eat anything, basically, without regurgitating it back up,” Dorsey said, per the publication. Subsequent tests revealed masses in his lower esophagus, lymph nodes and liver, The Post noted.
The outlet reported that Dorsey underwent routine check-ups every six months, and high blood pressure was his only concern before his diagnosis.
Per the Mayo Clinic, “Esophageal cancer is a growth of cells that starts in the esophagus. The esophagus is a long, hollow tube that runs from the throat to the stomach. The esophagus helps move swallowed food from the back of the throat to the stomach to be digested.”
“Esophageal cancer makes up about 1 [percent] of all cancers diagnosed in the United States, but it is much more common in other parts of the world, such as Iran, northern China, India, and southern Africa,” the American Cancer Society noted.
Father-of-four Dorsey told The Post that his Baltimore City Fire Department colleagues had been “nothing but just outstanding and supportive. The love that I’ve gotten out of them has been amazing.”
BCFD Engine 57/Facebook
Baltimore City Fire Department Engine 57
The BCFD Engine 57 Facebook page has been promoting two local upcoming fundraisers to help raise money for Dorsey’s treatment, as well as previously launching a GoFundMe page.
Dorsey began chemotherapy in March and is expected to have treatment until June, The Post stated.
“I will have a follow-up CT scan done to see what the tumors look like,” he said. “We’re hopeful that they’ve shrunk down, and if the chemotherapy and immunotherapies are successful in that, then we’ll just keep moving forward with that.”
He told the publication that his medical leave will eventually turn into medical retirement. “I didn’t expect it to happen this early or happen this way,” he said, but insisted, “It’s been a great ride.”
Dorsey’s comments come after he told WMAR 2 News about his reaction to the diagnosis in March. “You go through all those different stages of shock, disbelief, anger, and then you kind of accept it a little bit, but then you get angry again, so,” he said.
According to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network website, “Firefighters have a 62 percent higher risk of getting esophageal cancer, and they have a 39 percent increased risk of dying from esophageal cancer,” citing National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) research.
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“There are tests that can be done that are pre-cancer tests. There are other fire departments that do that for their members. Baltimore City does not offer that to us at this time,” Dorsey previously told WMAR 2 News.
“I would most definitely encourage my coworkers in Baltimore City and other firefighters in other places to talk to their doctor and go get tested,” he added to the outlet.
The GoFundMe page set up to raise money amid Dorsey’s diagnosis had raised over $9,700 as of Thursday, May 22.
PEOPLE has reached out to the BCFD for a comment but did not immediately hear back.
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