On Thursday morning, Patriots running back Brandon Bolden shared a video on his Instagram with the caption, "F#*% CANCER."
The TikTok video, which was made by Bolden himself, had various pictures of him in a hospital bed, and then more pictures of him back playing in NFL games with his teammates.
Speaking to reporters later in the day, Bolden was asked about it and he gave some more detail into his experience, which took place back in 2018.
“I really didn’t have a reason for it," he said of posting the video when he did. "I actually had made that video [Wednesday] night because I was going through pictures, just kind of reminding myself. That was back in 2018, I was diagnosed with cancer, it’s like [inaudible] carcinoma. I got it removed in 2018 and still was cancer free at the beginning of this season. I feel fine and everything else.
"It was just one of those moments where I was messing with my son and my little brother about this, I actually looked in the mirror and I was like, 'I’ve got my full face back' and that’s what made me go through the pictures and everything else. Just to show like I had cancer and I didn’t think I was going to play another down in the NFL and here I am three years, going on four years, after having the surgery and still working strong. It was kind of one of those inspirational type deals for me because that took a lot. It was a lot of naysay from doctors and everything else and then I am here to prove people wrong and grow and get stronger.”
This occurred following the Patriots' loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Bolden said it was right after the season where he got the diagnosis and surgery. He returned to the Patriots, but was cut following training camp and signed with Miami.
"[I] lost the majority of function on the right side of my face and continued to play," he said. "It was just my face, it wasn’t the rest of my body so I was OK with it.”
Bolden said some of the veteran members of the team knew about it, but not the younger ones.
"I don’t ever talk about it. I rarely talk about it," he said. "It never stopped me from doing anything. It didn’t hinder me from anything. It was just one of those things me and my family dealt with and just kept pushing and kept everything as normal as possible.”
After opting out of the 2020 season, Bolden has been a huge part of the Patriots' success this season filling in for James White. The 31-year-old has 37 receptions for 364 yards and a touchdown to go along with 176 yards rushing.
Below is the Instagram post.