Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing
Gary Sinise’s son has died from a rare cancer aged 33.
The Forrest Gump star announced yesterday (27 February) that his son, McCanna ‘Mac’ Anthony Sinise, died on 5 January following a years-long battle with Chordoma.
Mac had recently finished working on his album Resurrection & Revival, and died the same week it went to press.
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He was diagnosed with the rare spinal cancer back in August 2018, only two months after Gary’s wife Moira was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
But while she went into remission and has stayed cancer-free since treatment, the actor wrote that his son’s disease spread and ‘disabled him more and more as time went on’.
Gary announced his son’s death on the Gary Sinise Foundation website.
“He died on January 5, 2024 at 3:25pm, and was laid to rest on January 23rd," the actor wrote in a statement.
"Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can…I am so blessed, fortunate, and proud to be his dad."
The star, well known for playing Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, explained he had ‘never heard’ of Chordoma when his son was diagnosed.
Chordoma is a slow growing cancer of tissue found inside the spine, and the National Cancer Institute say just one in one million people are diagnosed with it each year.
Gary explained: “In 70% of the cases the initial tumour can be removed, and it is cured. But in 30% of the cases, perhaps about 90 people per year, the cancer returns.”
While Mac underwent two spinal surgeries, the Chordona had returned by May 2019, beginning ‘a long battle that disabled hi more and more as time went on’.
The musician joined the Foundation back in 2017, working alongside his dad to support veterans, first responders and their families.
He was also a drummer in the actor’s band, the Lt. Dan Band, which visits military hospitals around the US.
“Those were some great times, father and son rockin’ out together for the troops,” Gary said.
Mac launched the Gary Sinise Foundation podcast, doing an interview with his dad the day before his fourth spinal surgery in 2020. He then had to finish his work with the foundation to ‘fight his battle’.
“As parents, it is so difficult losing a child," he continued. "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. In sharing our story, we hope to shine a little bit of light on what has been a difficult time for us as Mac was truly a light for all of us.
"An incredible inspiration to those who knew and loved him, he faced his battle with grace, courage, and love. Even with one setback after another, he never stopped living and learning, creating, and giving, and loving.
"He fought an uphill battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never quit trying."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Jess Battison