(RADIO.COM Sports) This hasn't been an easy season for Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera.
He was diagnosed with squamos cell cancer in his lymph nodes in August and spent two months undergoing treatment without missing a single game. He completed his treatment on Oct. 26, but it was no walk in the park for Rivera.
In a profile with ESPN, Rivera detailed his journey through his treatment, explaining the different therapies and challenges he encountered and how he would've never been able to get through it if not for the support of his family, team, doctors, nurses, techs, therapists and ... some Taco Bell, root beer and Mountain Dew.
Yep, Rivera unexpectedly discovered that the soft drinks and fast food would help him through some of the more arduous moments of his treatments.
Rivera underwent chemotherapy twice a week and proton therapy five times a week, and the side effects began to wear on him. Rivera lost 36 pounds and had difficulty swallowing due to sores that would develop in his throat.
Essentially, Rivera’s throat would burn if he had anything acidic or spicy.
“For breakfast, I had pancakes and to help swallow, I had what amounted to three cups of syrup on the two pancakes,” Rivera said. “Water tasted terrible. The only things I could truly drink were root beer and Mountain Dew. Those tasted normal and helped me eat from that point on. What’s crazy is one of the foods that helped me get through this was Taco Bell tacos, for whatever reason.”
The profile also detailed Rivera’s attitude toward his treatment, approaching sessions as if he were back on the field getting ready for a game.
Among the treatments included a task in which Rivera had to lie on his back with a mesh-like mask over his face, which was then latched to the table to keep his head still while lasers aimed for precise spots on his face. It would last anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.
“Every time I hear that first lock going into place, my first thought was, ‘Here we go, we’re getting after it, let’s go,’” Rivera said. “’Come on body, let’s go. We’re gonna kick its ass.’”
Indeed he did.
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