October 25, 2014
Lifting a teammate: Friar skaters eager for return of cancer-stricken Drew Brown ’15
The initial feelings of shock and gloom in the dorm room were overpowered by a fraternal feeling of resolve the night in April when Providence College men’s ice hockey forward Drew Brown ’15 (Grass Lake, Mich.) told the team he was leaving campus to battle a serious health issue.
“Brownie, you’re going to get through this” is how close friend and teammate Noel Acciari ’16 (Johnston, R.I.) summed up the spirit in the room. Off and on the ice, the Friars have kept Brown’s fortunes paramount and won’t waver in their focus until he returns to the team, said Acciari.
The news of Brown’s diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma — a rare form of bone cancer — in his left leg in May ignited a torrent of support not only from the hockey program and the College, but from around the sports world. Tweets immediately flowed in from myriad college hockey and other athletic programs, PC hockey alumni, and local and national media professionals. Shortly thereafter, the Friars’ women’s basketball team sent care packages and cards to Brown.
An online fund-raising campaign that was established to help Brown’s family with medical costs had topped $19,000 as of mid-September. This included approximately $3,000 raised at the PC hockey program’s annual golf tournament in August and approximately $6,000 from the American Hockey Coaches Association’s “Hockey Coaches Care” initiative.
In addition, Head Coach Nate Leaman and several players, including Acciari, have visited Brown in Michigan, and nearly 20 players and coaches greeted Brown when he spent four days in the Providence area in July. Team members continue to text and contact him daily, and this season, the Friars are wearing stickers of support on their helmets.
“He’s overwhelmed by the amount of outreach. His teammates care about him a lot. They just want him back,” said Leaman.
Brown, who registered 32 points in his first three seasons with the Friars, saw his 2013-14 season end in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals when he took a hit to his left leg. During the course of his treatment by PC’s sports medicine staff, an MRI revealed a tumor. He flew home, and a biopsy at the University of Michigan’s University Hospital revealed the cancer.
After a series of chemotherapy treatments, results showed the tumor had shrunk and there were no additional tumors. In August, Brown had surgery in Michigan to remove the tumor and to replace the diseased bone with a cadaver one. Follow-up chemotherapy treatments are expected to continue until January. While having some down days, the scrappy forward has remained upbeat and optimistic, said Acciari, who played with him for two years at the Kent School in Connecticut before both came to PC.
“He’s a tough kid, strong,” said Acciari. “I’ve never seen someone get such news and be so positive.”
Leaman is hopeful Brown will be able to attend a Friars’ game and visit his teammates this fall — a reunion that would buoy everyone’s spirits.
“We are all behind Drew,” said Acciari. “We’re just waiting for him to get back.”
