Bryan Braman, a former NFL player who spent seven years in the league and celebrated a Super Bowl victory with the Eagles in February 2018, is currently facing a “life threatening” and “very rare” cancer, as revealed by a GoFundMe campaign.
The fundraiser did not specify the type of cancer, but it shared that the 38-year-old Braman has undergone CAR T-cell therapy in Seattle as part of a 12-week treatment regimen. To cover the expenses, he was forced to sell his last car and does not own a home, relying on motel accommodations while managing treatment costs.
William Jones, who initiated the fundraising page in February, provided an update on June 20, stating that Braman had returned to family. However, Braman faces hurdles in his recovery due to complications from multiple surgeries, stemming from a weakened immune system caused by the treatments.
“By the time he was able to recover so he could continue with the chemo, the cancer has grown expedentially [sic] faster, and is is [sic] now growing around his vital organs,” Jones wrote. “The Dr’s are now concerned because of his treatment, his chemo options are very limited. They have tried all of the various treatment options, and unfortunately, none of them are working against this cancer.
“But Bryan has not given up. He is looking into other trial treatment programs, and is determined to never give up.”
The page — with a fundraising goal of $25,000 — had raised over $38,000 as of Friday morning, including a $10,000 donation from former Texans teammate J.J. Watt.
“Bryan will be able to get the necessities for his diet,” Jones wrote in the June 20 update. “He needs to keep up his energy through his diet, and his foods/vitamins are extremely expensive, as are fresh juices which are what he needs. These donations will also go along [sic] way too [sic] help cover some of the treatment costs that are not covered by insurances. That has greatly helped Bryan to not have to focus on those, and now he can relaxe [sic] and recuperate.”
Braman, a linebacker and Spokane, Wash. native, signed with the Texans in 2011 as an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M and spent the first three years of his career in Houston, mostly carving out a special teams role.
He then played with the Eagles from 2014-16 and became one of their core special teams players.
Braman returned to Philadelphia just before the start of the 2017 postseason after the Saints cut him — on injured reserve at the time with an undisclosed injury — at the end of the preseason.
He recorded one tackle on a kickoff during the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots that year, which marked his final NFL season.
