WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said that his mother, Galynn, is doing well after undergoing cancer treatments last year, and reflected on how special it was to have her at Super Bowl LI.
“She couldn’t be any better, considering everything she’s gone through,” Brady said Tuesday on sports radio WEEI’s "Kirk and Callahan" program. “Everyone in our family is so happy. She got some tests back that were really positive, and she’s on the road to recovery.”
Brady’s comments Tuesday came as part of his guest appearance during WEEI’s cancer research telethon. He touched on how cancer has affected his family.
“My mom going through it, but my dad was right there alongside every step of the way. I’m on the other coast, so I wasn’t there on a daily basis. I could only offer certain kinds of support in certain ways, from afar. A lot of it was happening during the football season. My sisters were there every day, bringing my mom to her appointments, her treatments, really providing support that she needed. ...
“You just do the best you can do. Certainly, to see my mom now and come through it, I think she probably has a different perspective, too. You never know what happens in this life. I think we appreciate all these days that we have and appreciate the moments we have with each other. That’s really what I’ve tried to focus on.”
As for preparing for the Super Bowl as Galynn underwent cancer treatments, Brady said, “It was a very challenging time for our family. My mom is such an important, supportive, loving, caring, kind, generous mom. You want to be able to be there for her in moments like that. You just do the best you can do from afar. Obviously, playing football, it’s hard to do that because there is a commitment to a team that needs you also.
“I knew that my dad was taking good care of her and leading up to the Super Bowl; my dad had been to only one game all season. They hadn’t been to any of those games over the course of the year together, which was the first time in my entire playing career. So it was really special when she was at the Super Bowl. Really special to celebrate with her. She was really looking forward to going to the Super Bowl. I wanted her to be there. I wanted our team to get there. Fortunately we were able to get there and it was a really special time for our family, with such great memories, being there together.
“It’s great it turned out the way it did. Her treatments were ending at that point, so it kind of signified the end of not only the season but what she was going through, what our family was going through. It was a great way to finish the year.”
Brady relayed how his parents surprised him at training camp last week and that his wife, Gisele Bunchden, threw a surprise 40th birthday party for him. Brady had thought his parents had traveled back to California, but they also surprised him by attending the party.
“These moments you have, you really appreciate them because when someone is not feeling good, like last year at this time, we didn’t have many opportunities to do those things,” he said. “It was just nice to share it with them and with the people you care and love the most.
“You don’t know what happens. Perspective is a great thing to have, because you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. When you have your health, there are a lot of things that are great, positive. When you’re not as healthy as you want to be, you do take those things for granted – feeling good and feeling vibrant, waking up and doing the things you love to do.”