CHARLOTTE, S.C. — When Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera thought he had it tough this year, from a two-month winless streak to seeing his house catch on fire Monday, he found perspective in what his older brother was going through.

For the past 15 months, Mickey Rivera has battled pancreatic cancer, a disease that has a five-year survival rate of less than 15 percent even when caught at the earliest stage.

So when the Panthers beat the Cardinals 27-16 in the NFL playoffs and the team presented Ron Rivera with the game ball for his first playoff win as a head coach, he gave it to his brother.

“Knowing what he’s been battling and going through, any of the problems I’ve had — even this fire — seem insignificant,” Rivera said this week leading up to Carolina’s playoff game Saturday against the Seahawks.

Mickey has remained upbeat since his diagnosis. Even as he lost weight and his appetite, he’s persevered with a promise to not live like he’s on the clock.

“This is probably the best I’ve felt the entire time. I can pretty much eat whatever I want, I can travel if I want. It feels great,” Mickey said by phone this week. “Cancer is an ever-changing thing, and people feel well and then all of a sudden they’re not well. I understand that. But you’ve just got to do what you can with what you have.

“Plus you can’t live your life like you’re dying every day. Then you have no quality of life at all. Things are going to work out one way or the other, and you enjoy your life.”

All four of the Rivera boys — Steven, 58, Mickey, 56, Ron, 53, and John, 51 — were close growing up in California.

Ron got the size, Mickey says in a way that makes it clear he’s used that phrase before. None of the other three brothers is taller than 5-foot-10. Ron was 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds when the Chicago Bears drafted him in 1984 out of the University of California.

“He’s always been real nice. He’s always been real giving. And he’s always been big,” Mickey said. “Even from early on, you could tell Ron was going to be a big boy.”