Gary Sinise’s son has died, after battling a terrible illness for as long as he could.
On Tuesday, February 27, the Gary Sinise Foundation posted the news on their official Instagram account.
They shared a picture of Mac with the caption, “In Honor & Memory of McCanna ‘Mac’ Sinise 1990-2014.”
Gary, known best for his work in Forrest Gump and CSI: NY revealed that his son, affectionately known as Mac, died on Jan. 5, 2024.
He shared a message on the Gary Sinise Foundation website, as well as the cause of his son’s death: cancer.
Gary Sinise’s Son: Illness Called Chordoma Cause of His Death
Gary’s son died after a very hard five-and-a-half year battle with a rare form of cancer called Chordoma.
Gary had been very open about his son’s condition, ever since he was diagnosed with the cancer in 2018.
That was the same year his wife, Moira, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Chordoma is a rare type of bone cancer that happens most often in the bones of the spine or the skull, according to the Mayo Clinic.
His illness forced Mac to have five spinal surgeries, and ultimately rendered him paralyzed from the chest down.
Gary Remembers His Son After Passing
“Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can. Sinise wrote on his website.
He spoke on behalf of the entire family, including his wife Moria, who has since beaten breast cancer.
“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,” Sinise added. “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.”
Gary added just how difficult the last few years had been for his boy.
“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.”
The message concluded, “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.”