CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte community is rallying around an East Mecklenburg High School football coach who is battling cancer.
“Everything has just changed, and it’s still hard for me to talk about,” coach Robert Forshee said. “But you know I’m getting it together, just trying to live every day and try to fight this.”
Robert Forshee, 41, was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer this fall and is going through chemotherapy to get to remission.
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“In the terms of what we are dealing with the oncologist statistics, and the American Cancer Society. statistics, they’re not great,” he said. “But one thing I am in tune with is, you know those statistics are just statistics and that doesn’t include me at this point so, we’re gonna give it heck, you know?”
Forshee took a step back from coaching to focus on beating cancer and has gotten a massive amount of support from family members and friends in Charlotte and across the country.
“The outreach of support has been unreal,” he said.
His wife, Carly Forshee, who is the assistant principal at Garinger High School, has been by his side.
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East Meck and Garinger have joined forces to make T-shirts to support Robert Forshee.
“The support and just seeing Garinger and East Meck on t-shirtS show they are uniting for us, and having our backs has meant a lot,” Carly Forshee said.
Robert Forshee has advice for others.
“Enjoy where you’re at, if possible, and love and hug on the people closest to you,” he said. “I think you really need to build your family and your faith up on rock, so when the storms come, you’re ready, and you can persevere through that.”
He added that people should pay attention to their bodies and get yearly checkups at the doctor, which is when he learned that his bloodwork was not right.
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