Ron Rivera on coaching through cancer treatments: It’s a struggle

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Washington head coach Ron Rivera missed practice on Wednesday to go for chemotherapy and he left Thursday’s session a bit early because of the side effects of a treatment that he said has been tough for him after Sunday’s loss to the Ravens.

Rivera took IV fluids before the game and could be seen sitting on the bench during TV timeouts at points during the game. He also got constant reminders to stay hydrated over the course of the afternoon.

“It’s a struggle,” Rivera said, via Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “It’s a battle. . . . It’s interesting. I have my moments where I felt pretty strong and felt good enough to go get up and walk up and down the sidelines. There were other times I waned a little bit.”

Rivera said he “wanted to be there for the guys” despite the difficulties and those players wore t-shirts saying “Rivera Strong” in pregame warmups. Rivera, who wore the shirt during the game, also said his spirits were raised by seeing a section of the stands filled with cardboard cutouts purchased by friends and family to show support for him as he continues his fight.