(St. Paul, MN) — Former Golden Gopher football player Casey O’Brien, best known for beating cancer seven different times, has another battle on his hands. The 25-year old from the Twin Cities posted on social media last night that his cancer has returned to his lungs, liver, and back. In the posting, he says traditional treatment methods are no longer working, but he is excited about an experimental treatment his doctors are planning for him. But, because it is experimental, his insurance will not cover the costs. So, a “Go Fund Me” page was started last night and about 85-thousand-dollars had been raised in less than ten hours. The goal is 250-thousand-dollars. O’Brien was a member of the Gopher football team from 2017-2020 and played in two games in 2019 as a holder on extra point and field goal attempts. He made national headlines with his first game action at Rutgers in that 2019 season. He was the featured player speaker at Big Ten Football Media in Chicago in 2019. He was on his way to being a standout quarterback at Cretin-Derham Hall in 2013 when he was first diagnosed with cancer. He has since undergone more than 40 surgeries and spent more than 400 nights in the hospital. O’Brien helped raise over one-million-dollars in a fundraiser for the Masonic Children’s Hospital on the U of M campus. He has been working as a financial planner since retiring from football.
This is O’Brien’s message posted on Go Fund Me Page last night:
Hi everyone, my name is Casey O’Brien. After first being diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2013, I have been battling cancer for the last 11 years of my life. My original diagnosis was for a tumor in my left knee, and I had my knee fully replaced at the age of fourteen. Since then, I have had 40+ surgeries, 20+ chemotherapies, immunotherapies, and more. My family and I have spent over four hundred nights in the hospital and been seen by specialists across the country. I have faced adversity every step of the way in my seven relapses with cancer, but I have always found a way to smile and live life the way I have wanted. One of my proudest moments was being able to play Big Ten Football for the team I grew up watching, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Playing college football gave me a special platform to share my story with others fighting their own battles, leading to many connections and friendships in the cancer world.
Recently we found that cancer has returned in my lung, liver, and low back. I have exhausted many traditional options for treatment, and am now moving ahead with cutting edge procedures. Unfortunately, our insurance will not cover these options as they have limited amounts of data. We have a great plan in place, but it is not going to be cheap. Our spirits are high as we head into these new opportunities, and my family and I would truly appreciate any help we can get.
We have been so blessed with the prayers and support of you all for the last 11 years. This is a difficult ask for us. No words can express our gratitude and appreciation for your willingness to help. You all have given us strength and optimism each time we have been hit with difficult news and we are relying on that again. I look forward to being a success story soon!
Sincerely,
Casey
