When Bryan Braman lined up on special teams for the Eagles you couldn’t miss him for a couple reasons.
Not only did his long blond hair flow freely from the back of his helmet, he also always traveled the length of the field with a reckless abandon that defied the fear that should accompany a position that so often ended with a high-speed collision.
Now, the former Eagle is involved in a much more serious fight.
Braman, 38, is battling a rare former of cancer.
A Go Fund Me page started by William Jones last month told of Braman’s journey:
Bryan is home with his family after undergoing a Car-t cell reprogramming treatment program in Seattle. With the cancer that Bryan has, which is a VERY rare form of cancer, the Car-t treatment had the highest chance of success as the cells are reprogrammed to fight this cancer that is within Bryan.
His cells did re-infuse themselves, and did in fact start reproducing within his bone marrow. At first the mass did start to shrink, but then the cancer started fighting back. At this point Bryan has had to start having chemo treatments that are designed for the treatment program Bryan is in.
Bryan has had to undergo several surgical procedures. The main problem has been that Bryan has not been able to recover from the procedures because of his lowered immunity due to all of these treatments. By the time he was able to recover so he could continue with the chemo, the cancer has grown (exponentially) faster, and is is now growing around his vital organs.
The (doctors) 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.
To date, the Go Fund Me page had raised nearly $19,000 toward the stated goal of $25,000 as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Braman, two years after finishing among the NFL leaders with 17 special teams tackles in 2012 with the Houston Texans, joined the Eagles in 2014 and remained a mainstay on special teams through the 2017 season.
He actually didn’t make the roster cut in 2017, but was signed after Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams. Braman played in the final three regular-season games and all three postseason games.
He registered the final special teams tackle of his career in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.
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Bob Brookover can be reached atrbrookover@njadvancemedia.com
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