Exclusive | Beloved firefighter battling Stage 4 cancer his only clue was one very benign sign

Baltimore firefighter Steve Dorsey had the worst Valentine’s Day — but he’s feeling the love now.Dorsey, 56, was diagnosed on Feb.14 with Stage 4 esophageal cancer that spread to his lymph nodes and liver.The 21-year department veteran is on medical leave, undergoing chemotherapy in the hopes of shrinking his tumors, as his colleagues rally around him.“My co-workers in the Baltimore City Fire Department have been nothing but just outstanding and supportive,” Dorsey told The Post.

“The love that I’ve gotten out of them has been amazing.”Esophageal cancer is an aggressive, deadly cancer often caught in advanced stages.The five-year survival rate is low — especially for Stage 4 patients.Dorsey is sharing his story to encourage first responders to be proactive about their health.

The father of four is also trying to get fire departments nationwide to offer Lucid Diagnostics’ EsoGuard DNA test to detect abnormal esophageal cells before they progress to cancer.“My mission is to bring awareness to esophageal cancer [since firefighters have a] 63% higher [risk] than the general population.It’s right there with testicular cancer and mesothelioma,” Dorsey said.“And also bring awareness, too, that there is testing available.”Dorsey said he underwent routine check-ups every six months, with high blood pressure his only concern.Everything was fine until January, when he started to have trouble swallowing.

The difficulties were “very benign” at first — sometimes he’d have to drink some fluids to wash the food down.“It progressively just started getting worse, where it was very difficult to eat anything, basically, without regurgitating it back up,” Dorsey recalled.A series of tests revealed masses in his lower esophagus, lymph nodes and liver.Chemotherapy began in March and is expected to last into June.“I will have a follow-up CT scan done to see what the tumors look like,” Dorsey shared.“We’re hopeful that they’ve shrunk ...