Masha Garcia, the wife of former University of South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, provided an update after her husband was diagnosed with stage IV cancer earlier this year.
“Stephen is out of surgery,” she shared via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, September 22. “In the ICU. Surgeon called and said all the cancer is out!!!! 💪🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻thank you for all the prayers!!!”
However, Masha offered some clarification after her first message led to some confusion.
“PS earlier tonight I said the cancer is out,” she wrote via her Story. “Stephen has stage 4 cancer and is not officially cancer free. It’s going to be a long journey with surveillance. Thank you again for your love and prayers.”
Masha also shared a photo of her holding Stephen’s hand in his hospital bed, captioned, “My warrior.”
Stephen, 38, announced he had been diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in May.
During an appearance on the Today show earlier this month, the former college quarterback credited his wife for saving his life.
“I had some sporadic stomach pain,” Stephen, 38, told host Craig Melvin. “I was going to the bathroom often. Just wasn’t ever fully emptied.”
Stephen said things got “to the point where my wife was like, ‘What are you doing in the bathroom?’” Masha urged Stephen to get checked out, which is when he received his cancer diagnosis.
“It was definitely a shock,” Stephen recalled. “But I think it was just like, ‘What’s next?’ I wasn’t going to sit there and be like, ‘Well, I guess I’m dead.’ It’s like, what are we going to do? What’s the game plan? How are we going to beat this thing?”
Stephen, who played quarterback for the Gamecocks from 2008 to 2011, admitted the response to his cancer has been “kind of shocking.”
“The fact that fans still care means a lot,” he said on Today. “I hope they truly understand that. It means the world to me.”
A GoFundMe arranged in Stephen’s honor has raised more than $252,000.
“Wasn’t overly excited to share this news but it is what it is,” Stephen posted via Facebook in May after receiving his diagnosis. “We have a great team of doctors and staff that’s confident we can beat this! It’s the only option.”
He added, “If there’s one lesson to be learned, get checked and don’t be afraid to visit the doctors office when you don’t feel 100%. The stuff we consume has been altered significantly over the years and we’ve been hearing more and more people in this age range are getting diagnosed with these things. “We got this and I appreciate all yall!”
