OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
Gary Sinise’s son Mac Sinise died at age 33 from chordoma cancer, a very rare form of cancer affecting the spine.
In 2018, both Mac and Sinise’s wife Moira were diagnosed with cancer two months apart – Moira with breast cancer and Mac with chordoma.
Sinise wrote, “Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can. As parents, it is so difficult losing a child.”
“My heart goes out to all who have suffered a similar loss, and to anyone who has lost a loved one. We’ve all experienced it in some way. Over the years I have met so many families of our fallen heroes. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s just damn hard,” lamented the actor.
Sinise added, “Our family’s cancer fight lasted for 5 ½ years, and it became more and more challenging as time went on.”
“While our hearts ache at missing him, we are comforted in knowing that Mac is no longer struggling, and inspired and moved by how he managed it,” he continued.
Sinise explained, “He fought an uphill battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never quit trying. Mac loved movies, and we always told him he reminded us of the soldier at the end of the extraordinary film ‘1917,’ running through the battlefield, bombs going off all around him, knocking him down one after the other, yet he keeps getting back up, refusing to quit and keeps running forward.”
“I am so blessed, fortunate, and proud to be his dad,” declared Sinise.
He wrote, “And two cancer patients, mother and son, within two months of each other? A real punch in the gut.”
“I went online to see what I could find. Chordoma is a one in a million cancer. Originating in the spine, Chordoma affects, on average, only 300 people in the U.S. per year. In 70% of the cases the initial tumor can be removed, and it is cured. But in 30% of the cases, perhaps about 90 people per year, the cancer returns.”
“This began a long battle that disabled him more and more as time went on,” recalled the actor.
Mac underwent several surgeries and treatments over 5.5 years but the cancer eventually paralyzed him.
Despite his disability, Mac was inspired to finish a album called “Resurrection & Revival” with original songs and arrangements.
“Mac was a man who loved his Catholic faith, and there is no doubt that his strong faith sustained him through the awful 5 ½ year battle with this crippling Chordoma cancer,” shared Sinise.
He recorded it with Sinise’s band in his final weeks. Sinise praised Mac’s courage and faith during his long battle, and said Mac accomplished great things in his final months by realizing his musical vision.
Mac is survived by his father Gary Sinise, mother Moira, and two sisters.
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