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Stephen Garcia cancer diagnosis: Dabo Swinney sends emotional message to former South Carolina QB

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones05/07/26brianjones_93

Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia received an emotional message from Dabo Swinney after the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. On Thursday, Garcia went to X/Twitter to share the message the Clemson football head coach sent him.

“Hey, man. This is Dabo Swinney,” the message began. “Just wanted to let you know I prayed for you today and your family. I know you will keep the faith, stay strong, and attack this the same way you attacked every defense you ever saw.

“You are a winner, and you will win this, too. Let me know if I can help you or your family in any way. God Bless you!”

In the post, Stephen Garcia shared his reaction to the message. “I mean, this is a crazy situation, and I am just beyond words of how thankful I am for these folks to take time and send such a REAL message,” Garcia wrote. “Thank you, Coach Swinney.”

Stephen Garcia is in ‘super-high spirits’ after cancer diagnosis

Garcia announced that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer. He said that he has been in the hospital for several days and began his chemotherapy on Wednesday.

“I had the first round of chemo yesterday, I’m hoping like Hell I can keep this as long as possible, but if it’s got to go, it’s got to go – it’ll grow back,” he said in a video posted to his X/Twitter account on Thursday. “But I just wanted to tell everybody I’m in super-high spirits, we had our first round of chemo yesterday. We’re going to keep fighting this thing, put one foot forward, you know, eat an elephant one bite at a time.”

Garcia’s family has launched a GoFundMe page, and it has already received over $161,000 as of Thursday evening. On the page, Garcia wrote, “We are doing great and staying action. The thoughts, prayers, calls, texts, DMs, and donations have been a major help with the mentality! We got this!”

Garcia played for South Carolina from 2007 to 2011. He was the full-time starting QB in 2009 and 2010 and helped the Gamecocks win the SEC East title in 2010. In his career, Garcia threw for 7,597 yards and 47 touchdowns while rushing for 15 TDs.