Ron Rivera on Coaching Through Final Weeks of Cancer Treatment: 'It's Who I Am'

Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera has three weeks of cancer treatments and one round of chemotherapy remaining, and he plans to keep coaching throughout the process. 

"It's who I am," Rivera told host Robin Roberts on Good Morning America on Monday. "Listening to the doctors talking about how important it is to try and do as much of the routine as possible, but they also tell you, 'Hey, be careful, listen to your body.' And also, there's other people watching me, so I'm just trying to set the example."

Rivera, who was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in August, appeared drained on the sidelines of Washington's 31–17 loss to the Ravens on Sunday. At halftime, he leaned on a team employee's shoulder as he entered the locker room and also took time to hydrate during the game. Rivera said he felt "pretty good" after the matchup.

"Once we got done with the game, I hydrated," he said. "We went home. I tried to eat. Watched a little football. I honestly was in bed by about 8."

Washington showed support for Rivera on Sunday by surprising him with around 400 cardboard cutouts at FedEx Field that were purchased by friends and family ahead of the game. The cutouts were placed in a section called "Coach's Corner" and raised over $30,000 for the American Cancer Society.

"It means a lot. You know, when I first was diagnosed, I was angry," Rivera said. "People have reached out and talked to me and have given me their examples or just sent their well wishes. It helps push me forward and I think that's so important. When you go through something like this, you need a support system. When you have the right type of people pushing you, man, I tell you what it really helps. It gets your momentum going forward."

One of the cutouts was of Rivera's brother Mickey, who died in 2015 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. 

"That really hit me. It's hitting me now because Mickey was such a fighter," Rivera said. "Just to see him again—that hit home. That was great. It was awesome." 

After Roberts brought up Rivera's access to elite healthcare, he reiterated his desire to see affordable medical care in the U.S.

"There's so much that goes into this, and so expensive, that if we don't have quality health care in our country–we're the richest country in the world, [so] we should," he said. 

"And everybody deserves the opportunity to fight, and fight with everything that they're given. And this is the opportunity now. So people got to go out and they've got to vote, they've got to vote their conscience because it's important."