{"id":34583,"date":"2024-04-22T10:10:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=34583"},"modified":"2024-04-23T10:20:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T14:20:52","slug":"gary-sinise-reflects-on-god-prayer-and-sons-death-after-cancer-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2024\/04\/gary-sinise-reflects-on-god-prayer-and-sons-death-after-cancer-battle.html","title":{"rendered":"Gary Sinise Reflects on God, Prayer, and Son’s Death After Cancer Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
DFree \/ Shutterstock | Inset: garysinisefoundation.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was a man of great faith \u2013 great, great faith.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s how actor Gary Sinise describes his 33-year-old son Mac, who died in January after a torturesome battle with Chordoma, a rare and persistent cancer that starts in the spine. The \u201cForrest Gump\u201d star told CBN News that his son \u201cloved his Catholic faith\u201d and deeply embraced it throughout his challenging journey. Sinise said of the health struggle that started in 2018, \u201cIt was just inspiring to see how it helped sustain him through this cancer battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, the family fought alongside Mac, trying available medications and anything believed to be able to heal him potentially. Sinise said he was there to battle alongside Mac as long as he kept fighting. And that expedition wasn\u2019t easy, as the loving dad recounted the \u201cvery disabling and crippling\u201d nature of the disease. After the first tumor was removed in September 2018, Mac was monitored. Tragically, by May 2019, the cancer had returned. Sinise said, \u201cIt had come back, and it was starting to spread throughout his body. He was back in the hospital again, and he started chemo and radiation at that point, but there is no cure for this particular cancer. There\u2019s no reliable drug that has been used to fight it that has been effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unpredictable nature of the cancer meant doctors would often throw different treatments and medications into the mix, hoping to thwart the malignancy \u2014 but to no avail. Mac faced spinal surgery, multitudes of hospital visits, and more, bravely fighting for his life along the way. \u201cThese tumors were growing very fast,\u201d Sinise said. \u201cUncharacteristically fast for Chordoma.\u201d Mac had to resign from his position with the\u00a0Gary Sinise Foundation<\/a>\u00a0as he mustered the energy to fight on, relying on faith to cope and process. Throughout the ordeal, Mac prayed, journaled \u2014 and revisited creating music he started years before but never completed.<\/p>\n