Rare Spine Cancer Claims Son of Gary Sinise
The son of actor Gary Sinise died nearly six years after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called chordoma.
The “Forrest Gump” actor and veteran activist shared the news of McCanna “Mac” Sinise’s passing through his official Instagram account, which featured a photo of the 33-year-old.
“Our family’s cancer fight lasted for 5 ½ years, and it became more and more challenging as time went on,” Gary Sinise shared on the Gary Sinise Foundation website. “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 fought an uphill battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never quit trying.”
According to Moffitt Cancer Center neurosurgeon Dr. Andre Beer Furlan, chordoma is a rare form of cancer that most often grows from the bone at the base of the skull or at the lower levels of the spine and tailbone.
The prognosis for each person is unique and depends on many different factors. These include the patient’s age, type of chordoma, size and location of the tumor, method of treatment and extent of the surgery.
“Skull base chordomas are not formed in the brain itself,” Beer Furlan said. “But different functions of the body can be impaired by these tumors since they grow around vital areas of the central nervous system, nerves and arteries that control our motor functions and senses.”
Beer Furlan says chordomas are typically slow growing. The condition is very rare, impacting about 1 in 1 million people. Those assigned male at birth are 1 ½ times more likely to have a chordoma than those assigned female at birth.
“There really is no age range for this type of cancer,” Beer Furlan said. “But they most typically occur in adults in their 50s and 60s. Symptoms include pain, weakness and numbness in the back, arms or legs.”
Gary Sinise shared that his son, a graduate of the University of Southern California, had undergone five spine surgeries between 2018 and 2020. He eventually became paralyzed from the chest down yet continued to work with collaborators in music to create an album called “Resurrection & Revival.”
Mac Sinise passed away the same week the album went to press.
“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,” Gary Sinise said in a statement. “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.”
