Gary Sinise: Forrest Gump star’s son Mac, 33, dies of rare cancer

Forrest Gump star Gary Sinise has announced the death of his son Mac, 33, who was battling “a very rare cancer.”

The American actor revealed that his son died on January 5, more than five years after his diagnosis.

In a sentence posted on the Gary Sinise Foundation website, said the family was “heartbroken” and “we are handling it the best we can.”

He added that he felt “blessed, lucky and proud” to be Mac’s father.

Mac, whose full name was McCanna Anthony Sinise, graduated from USC’s Thornton School of Music and was an “exceptional drummer,” his father said.

Sinise said he was diagnosed with chordoma in August 2018, just two months after his wife Moira was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.

His wife went into remission and remains cancer-free after treatment. However, Mac’s cancer spread and “increasingly disabled him,” Sinise wrote.

“As parents, it is very difficult to lose a child. My heart goes out to everyone who has suffered a similar loss and to anyone who has lost a loved one.” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking and tremendously difficult. Our family’s fight against cancer lasted five and a half years and became increasingly more difficult as time went on.”

Sinise, who played Lt. Dan Taylor in the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump opposite Tom Hanks, said the family’s heart aches for missing Mac.

But they added that they were comforted to know that he was no longer suffering and that they were “inspired and moved by how he handled it.”

“He fought a tough battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never stopped trying.”

Sinese, 68, said “one cancer in a million” originates in the spine and affects about 300 people in the United States each year.

She called her son “an incredible inspiration to those who knew and loved him,” adding, “He faced his battle with grace, courage and love. Even with setback after setback, he never stopped living and learning, creating and giving.” , and lovely.”