Bryan Braman, a former NFL linebacker who played seven seasons with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles, is battling an aggressive form of ‘life-threatening cancer,’ according to a GoFundMe set up in his benefit by William Jones.
Braman, 38, has had multiple surgeries while being treated for the disease in Seattle, which has put financial strain on the Spokane native and his family.
‘He is required to have a 24-hour caregiver, but his insurance doesn’t pay for housing for this program,’ Jones’ first GoFundMe update in February read. ‘He has no home currently as he has had to pay out of pocket for much of his treatment, and even sold his last vehicle to raise the money for the motel [for] this week.’
The GoFundMe for Braman had raised more than $65,000 as of 11 a.m. ET on Saturday. That included a $10,000 donation from Braman’s former Texans teammate, J.J. Watt, and donations from other former teammates including Chris Long, Duane Brown, Brian Cushing, Brent Celek and Rasul Douglas, among others.
Braman’s treatment has included CAR T-cell Therapy – which the American Cancer Society describes as ‘a way to get immune cells called T cells (a type of white blood cell) to fight cancer by changing them in the lab so they can find and destroy cancer cells’ – according to an update posted to the GoFundMe on June 20.
‘His cells did re-infuse themselves, and did in fact start reproducing within his bone marrow,’ Jones wrote. ‘At first the mass did start to shrink, but then the cancer started fighting back.’
Braman has since had chemotherapy treatments but has struggled to bounce back from the surgical procedures he has had due to lowered immunity from the treatments.
Despite this, Braham remains ‘determined to never give up,’ according to the GoFundMe. That hasn’t been a surprise to Sean Stellato, his long-time agent.
‘At Stellato Sports, Bryan Braman has always stood for strength, resilience and leadership,’ Stellato told KPRC 2 in Houston. ‘He is a pillar and a staple of the underdog. Now, in the face of cancer, he embodies those qualities more than ever.’
‘If there is one person that I know that can beat cancer, it is Bryan Braman, who I have always considered family. He’s in the fight of his life.’