'I'm not dead yet': Former Gamecocks QB Stephen Garcia vows to beat Stage 4 cancer
Garcia has been diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer, which doctors say had gone undetected for more than three years.
Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia recently announced he has Stage 4 cancer. (Dwayne McLemore/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) The State via Getty Images Stephen Garcia initially brushed it off last July when he started experiencing irregular bowel movements and sporadic pain in his lower left abdomen. “I don’t need to go see a doctor to figure out what’s wrong with me,” the former University of South Carolina starting quarterback remembers thinking.
“I’ll just beat this. ” When the symptoms lingered through the fall and winter, Garcia’s wife Masha grew concerned and began pushing him to schedule an ultrasound. The battery of tests that followed produced a devastating diagnosis that left Masha in tears and Garcia shell-shocked.
In late April, Garcia learned he has Stage 4 colorectal cancer , reflecting that the cancer started in Garcia’s colon and has since spread to his liver. Doctors told Garcia that the cancer has likely gone undetected in his colon for as long as three-to-seven years. The fight of Garcia’s life began Wednesday when he underwent his first of four-to-six rounds of aggressive FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy, “the big gun” as he put it with a wry chuckle.
The goal is to shrink the tumor in his colon, radiate it and then perform surgery to remove it. “We’re going to kick this thing in the teeth and knock it out,” Garcia, 38, said during a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. “There is no other option.
Continue to the original source for the full article.