Washington coach Ron Rivera received his final cancer treatment Monday — and he was greeted with quite the welcome afterward.
In a touching video, Rivera is seen walking down a hallway at the Inova Cancer Scholar Institute to a group of hospital workers cheering on the coach and throwing confetti. Rivera is then greeted with a gift of a poster recognizing his fight with cancer before ringing a bell at the hospital, a tradition for patients that are done with treatment.
Watch the moment below:
It’s a different kind of Victory Monday 💛#RiveraStrong pic.twitter.com/tgiZgOpBGC
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) October 26, 2020
Rivera revealed in August that he had been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer found in his lymph node. He said the type of cancer was treatable, but it required him to go through seven weeks of proton therapy and chemotherapy to fight it.
Through it all, Rivera did not miss a game and continued his coaching duties. He missed a few practices on occasion because of his fatigue, but the coach was still largely around his team.
Players and coaches have praised Rivera’s fight, calling it inspiring. After Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, quarterback Kyle Allen said the team was starting to form an identity that started with their coach.
“Our head coach is going through cancer right now,” Allen said. “It’s getting treatment, he’s getting chemo, and then he’s showing up the next day at work. He’s setting the example for us and it’s right in front of our eyes.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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