STILL FIGHTING: Soldier aims to beat cancer, calls Army doctors into question

SSG Lupe Maldonado and his wife Yerika Maldonado are seen at the Brigade Ball 2013 just two months before his diagnosis. (Courtesy photo)

SSG Lupe Maldonado and his wife Yerika Maldonado are seen at the Brigade Ball 2013 just two months before his diagnosis. (Courtesy photo)

By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lupe Maldonado has fought in many battles throughout his career in the military, but he is now fighting the battle of his life.

Maldonado, who graduated from San Benito High School in 1996 ranked sixth in his class and from the University of Texas in Austin in 2001, was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, having been misdiagnosed for several years, he said.

“The problem is that I’m battling for my life,” Maldonado said in a telephone interview on Monday. “I don’t know if I’m going to live through this. I could end up dying within the next two or three years, unfortunately. I’m getting better every day, I can feel it. I believe in prayer.”

Maldonado, who’s stationed at Fort Hood, sought treatment when he began experiencing severe abdominal pain and blood in his stool in February of 2010. At the time, Army doctors declared Maldonado fit for duty, he said.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2013/05/14/still-fighting-soldier-aims-to-beat-cancer-calls-army-doctors-into-question/

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