An Army veteran who has served his country and came back from Afghanistan is now facing his biggest battle yet: beating cancer.
- Army veteran faces battle with cancer
- Steven Baker served in Army until 2010; survived IED explosion
- Baker diagnosed with rare form of cancer; given 1-2 years
Steven Baker served in the U.S. Army until 2010, when an improvised explosive device blew up his unit in Afghanistan.
Baker moved to Sarasota, where he met his wife, Kristin, and started a family. Little did Steven know that Afghanistan would only be the first battle in the war for his life.
"When we first sat down, they wanted to give us a time line. They were saying 1 to 2 years, and that's really hard to swallow," Kristin said.
At 28 years old, Baker was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, desmoplastic small round cell tumor — along with a grim prognosis.
"Only 15,000 people have ever had it, so it's super rare," Steven Baker said.
Talking about the war barely flinches him. But the idea of losing his life to this disease is unimaginable.
"When you're in Afghanistan, you have your guys to help you out. But here, it's like, what can you do?" Baker asked.
He's doing the only thing he knows to do: fight for his life.
Every other week, Baker is in a hospital doing chemotherapy. But the moment he walks outside, you could never tell he is sick.
"I go to the gym still every day. I go golfing two to three times a week. So I'm very blessed," he said.
While this will be his hardest battle yet, this time, he has his family to live for.
If you would like to learn more about Baker's story or help donate to the medical costs, go to this GoFundMe page.
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