Brandon Bolden’s cancer survival story is brought to light in effort to raise awareness
By Nick Antonakas, WEBN Correspondent
Former Patriot and current Raiders running back Brandon Bolden told his cancer survival story at the NFL’s Crucial Catch event.
Brandon Bolden raised awareness of cancer Tuesday night at the NFL’s Crucial Catch event by telling his personal cancer survival story. Bolden – a former New England Patriot and current Las Vegas Raider – underwent a multiyear-long battle facing his cancer diagnosis and eventually overcoming the disease.
Bolden’s survival story all began in the Patriots 2014 AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Off a punt return, Bolden decked a Colts special teamer into retirement while simultaneously dislocating a rib, right shoulder and injuring his jaw. Bolden kept his injury issues on the low to stay in the lineup, and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl while he saw no improvement in his jaw.
A lump formed on Bolden’s jaw, with which he responded by growing a beard to hide it. He took a hit to the neck against the New York Jets in 2017, driving Bolden into such pain that he contemplated fumbling the ball on purpose.
Bolden would undergo a biopsy on his jaw, and regardless, he kept playing.
“They was like, ‘hey, when do you want to know the results?’ And I was like, ‘you can tell me when the season’s over, we’re in the playoffs.’”
Those results led Bolden to a second biopsy conducted by his son’s classmate’s mother. This revealed Bolden’s cancer diagnosis to his son before he himself even knew. After a nine-hour surgery featuring removal of part of his skull and an extensive recovery, Bolden would return to Patriots coach Bill Belichick with the news of his return.
“What would you do differently?” Bolden recalls Belichick asking. “I would’ve gotten checked a lot sooner.”
Bolden extended his efforts beyond the panel, presenting Dave – a die-hard Raiders fan and a recently diagnosed stage four colon cancer patient – with two tickets to Super Bowl 58. You can visit the official website of Crucial Catch to find your local screening center.