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When an NFL player receives an unfortunate cancer diagnosis, it affects them in the same way as it would any other human being. Cancer can be a terrifying and life-threatening situation for anyone that can completely change the entire course of one's daily life.
While cancer can, sometimes, completely derail an NFL player's career, and understandably so, there have been other times when a player has been able to win their battle against cancer and sometimes even make a triumphant return to the football field. Here are five NFL players who were amazingly able to do so.
5 NFL cancer survivors who later returned to the football field
#1 - Trent Williams
Trent Williams received troubling news during the 2013 NFL season when his doctors noticed a cancerous growth on his scalp. A few years later, following the 2018 season, Williams went in for what he believed would be a simple procedure, which turned into much worse news. The cancer was growing deep in his skin, and alarmingly, it was approaching his brain.
Williams went through multiple surgeries, including a long and complicated recovery process with a complete restructuring of his scalp. He sat out the entire 2019 season before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he made his triumphant return.
#2 - James Conner
James Conner was rehabbing from a completely different injury while attending Pitt for his college football career when he was blindsided by the terrible news. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and wasn't sure if he would survive it, let alone continue his football career.
After winning his battle with cancer, Conner slipped lower in the NFL Draft due to his diagnosis before getting a call from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were just down the road from where he played college football.
5 NFL players who returned to football after surviving cancer
#3 - Eric Berry
Eric Berry reported to team doctors that he was having chest pains following a game during the 2014 NFL season. After running a series of tests, the next day, the team found a mass in his chest, which he was told could possibly be lymphoma. A few days later, he was officially diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which Berry said changed his entire outlook on life in general.
Berry made an official statement to the public about his diagnosis and promised to eventually return to the football field, despite the slim chances that he would be able to do so. He overcame the odds and did so rapidly. He was declared cancer-free just seven months after his official diagnosis and returned to the football field in the first game of the 2015 season, less than a calendar year after his previous game.
#4 - Mark Herzlich
Mark Herzlich was attending Boston College for his college football career when he received the news that he had cancer. He was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare and dangerous form of bone cancer. He was incredibly declared cancer-free in 2009 just four months after he was officially diagnosed.
Herzlich went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, partially because of his health situation. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2011 season, where he would remain for seven years.
#5 - Brandon Bolden
Brandon Bolden was diagnosed with epidermoid carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, following the conclusion of the 2018 season. Bolden reported that he temporarily lost all functionability to the right side of his face, but thankfully underwent successful surgery to remove the cancer.
Bolden is now cancer-free and has regained control of the part of his face that he lost while battling cancer. His health situation played heavily into his decision to sit out the 2020 NFL season, but he is back now to continue his career.
