Former Eagles Super Bowl champion Bryan Braman died Thursday morning at the age of 38 from a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.
The news was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by Sean Stellato, the agent for the special teams ace who spent seven seasons in the NFL, including four with the Eagles. Braman leaves behind two daughters, ages 11 and 8.
Braman had been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in early February and his story became public earlier this month when his friend William Jones started a GoFundMe page, which explained the linebacker’s dire situation.
Wrote Jones: 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.
The GoFundMe for Braman had a stated goal of $25,000 and has raised more than $88,000.
Braman, who played three seasons with the Houston Texans before signing with the Eagles in 2014, won a Super Bowl with the team after rejoining the team late in the 2017 season. He blocked a punt in the divisional round against the Atlanta Falcons and registered the final special teams tackle of his career in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots, which was his final game.
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Bob Brookover can be reached atrbrookover@njadvancemedia.com
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