Redskins news: Ron Rivera reveals lymph node cancer diagnosis

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera has announced that he has been diagnosed with lymph node cancer. However, it's very curable.

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera has revealed that he has been diagnosed with lymph node cancer, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Rivera, 58, told Schefter that he felt a lump in his neck in July and that he saw a doctor a few weeks later when it didn’t go away. The doctor eventually diagnosed him with lymph node cancer; however, the doctor told him it’s still in its early stages and it’s “very treatable and curable.”

Rivera has consulted with a number of doctors and is currently establishing a treatment plan with the team and an outside specialist. He told his team on Thursday about his devastating news:

“Some were stunned. A bunch came up and wished me well. I said, ‘I’m going to be a little more cranky, so don’t piss me off.’

Despite being diagnosed with cancer, he still plans to coach this season; however, the team has a “Plan B” if he isn’t able to coach this season.

“Doctors encouraged me to do it, too,” he told Schefter. “They said, ‘If you feel strongly, do it. Don’t slow down, do your physical activities.’ But everyone keeps telling me by Week 3 or 4, you’ll start feeling it.”

Rivera was hired to coach Washington on Jan. 1, and before that, he was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2011-2019. Rivera will be seeking to lead the Washington Football Team to their first playoff appearance in four years.

They’re scheduled to play their first regular season game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 14.