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What Is Chordoma? Condition Explored As Gary Sinise Announces Son's Death After Battle With Rare Form Of Cancer
Following the devastating news of actor Gary Sinise's son McCanna Anthony Sinise's death from Chordoma, attention is drawn to this rare form of cancer and its challenges. We are exploring more about it down below!
On Tuesday, February 27, actor Gary Sinise, best known for Forrest Gump, revealed on his foundation website that his eldest son McCanna Anthony Sinise had passed away on January 5 following a five-and-a-half year-long battle with Chordoma, an extremely rare form of cancer.
He was a multi-instrumental musician, revealed his aforementioned obituary.
In light of the young musician's tragic passing and with the aim of enhancing understanding of the fatal disease, we are shedding light on the condition that caused his death down below.
What is Chordoma? The rare form of Cancer that took McCanna Sinise’s life
According to the National Cancer Institute, chordoma is “a slow growing cancer of tissue found inside the spine" that "form from the left-over cells that were important in the development of the spine before birth.” 
“Many people don't notice any change in their bodies for years,” according to NCI, and “When they do start to have symptoms, it can take a while for the chordoma to be discovered and diagnosed.”
Chordoma is so rare that only one in a million people worldwide are diagnosed each year.
While the cancer is rare, once diagnosed, chordoma is mostly impossible to cure.
Some common symptoms of chordoma include pain, weakness, and numbness in body parts including arms, back, or legs. When it forms in the upper half of the spine, the symptoms may include blurry vision, facial numbness, headache, and more.
Treatment efforts for the condition include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and, surgery.
Honoring McCanna Sinise’s battle with Chordoma
According to the tribute posted on the Gary Sinise Foundation website, McCanna Sinise, also fondly known as Mac, was first diagnosed with chordoma in the spine in August 2018, only a few months after his mother, Moira Harris’ stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis.
While Moira recovered from the morbid disease following a series of therapy and surgery, Mac’s cancer spread and “disabled him more and more as time went by.”
Gary Sinise in the obituary informed that his son underwent five spine surgeries between 2018 and 2020, but eventually was left paralyzed from the chest down. The Forrest Gump actor added that Mac “fought an uphill battle against cancer that has no cure.”
McCanna Sinise was only 33 at the time of his death. He is survived by his father, actor and musician Gary Sinise, his mother, Moira, and two younger sisters Sophie and Ella Sinise.
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