Gary Sinise Said His Late Son Mac’s Cancer Was So Rare, He Had '25 Different Drugs': ‘You Throw What You Can at It’

Mar. 15, 2025

Gary Sinise with son McCanna Anthony “Mac.".Photo:Gary Sinise/instagram

Gary Sinise’s Son McCanna Anthony ‘Mac’ Dead at 33

Gary Sinise/instagram

Gary Siniseshared that his son underwent surgeries, radiation, and “25 different drugs” during his rare cancer struggle, due to the lack of treatments available. After “a tough six years,” McCanna Anthony “Mac” Sinisediedon Jan. 5, 2024, at age 33.

Sinise shared more details about his family’s journey during a Feb. 5 appearance on Rob Lowe’s podcastLiterally!.“First of all, I’m so sorry for your loss. What a heroic struggle he had and you had as a family going through that kind of rare cancer. Good Lord,” Lowe, 60, began.

“It’s been a tough six years, hard one to deal with,” Sinise, 69, replied. “It’s a very, very rare cancer called chordoma and it really affects maybe 300 people in the U. S. per year. That’s very, very rare. They’re not developing any drugs to fight it because so few people get it. Mac had the metastatic chordoma. That’s even more rare because, quite often this starts in the spine and they can remove the tumor and they can cure it about 70 percent of the time, but 30 percent of the time it comes back and it spreads.”

Gary Sinise and his family were honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on April 17, 2017.Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mediapunch/Shutterstock (8613196q) Gary Sinise, Moira Sinise and family Gary Sinise honored with star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, USA - 17 Apr 2017

Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Chordomas, asJohn Hopkins Medicineexplains, are tumors that form at the base of the skull or in the spinal cord from embryonic tissue. Although they may be slow-growing, they are “aggressive,” and can grow large.

Sinise continued, sharing that “under 100 people per year have to deal with [the cancer Mac had]. And so there’s no pharmaceutical companies that are developing any drugs for it. You just throw what you can at it.”

As a result, he said his family just “dealt with it as best we could,” while Mac underwent multiple treatments.

“He had surgeries and radiation and 25 different drugs over a four-year period,” Sinise said.  “Istopped acting in 2019and focused on the fight and trying to help him. Thankfully, some good success over the years allowed me to take that time off and focus on Mac.”

When he announcedMac’s death, the actor wrote in a statement: “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. 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 ourfallen heroes. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s just damn hard.”

“I am so blessed, fortunate, and proud to be his dad.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

source: people.com