Washington Football Team Coach Ron Rivera Is Cancer-Free, According to Daughter

Ron Rivera is cancer-free. The big news came on Thursday afternoon as his daughter, Courtney Rivera, made the announcement on Twitter. This comes after Ron Rivera battling squamous cell cancer thought the entire NFL season.

“Thank you all for the love and prayers just got off the phone with mom and dad leaving the hospital [Ron Rivera] is officially cancer-free!!!” Courtney wrote. Ron Rivera, 59, was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in August. He finished his treatment in late October and did not miss one game while leading Washington Football Team to an NFC East Championship. It’s likely Rivera will win Coach of the Year, which will be awarded next weekend.

“It’s a struggle,” Rivera said after his team’s 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, as reported by NFL.com. “It’s a battle. And I just don’t represent me. I represent all those folks. All those people that are afflicted, all those people that fight, all those people that have fought.” Squamous cell cancer is a former of skin cancer. It can cause complications but usually not life-threatening. When Rivera was first diagnosed with the disease he told Adam Schefter of ESPN he will continue to coach.

“I’m planning to go on coaching,” Rivera said to Schefter. “Doctors encouraged me to do it too. They said, ‘If you feel strongly, do it. Don’t slow down, do your physical activities.’ But everyone keeps telling me by week three or four, you’ll start feeling it.” Rivera said he found a lump on his neck in early July. It remained on his neck for two weeks, which led to him visiting a doctor. He was “stunned” where he heard it was cancer and then said he was “angry because I feel like I’m in the best health I’ve been in.”

Rivera was hired as Washington’s head coach last year after spending nine seasons as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. In his nine seasons in Carolina, Rivera was named Coach of the Year twice (2013 and 2015) and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance.