When “Brian’s Song” captured hearts as a TV movie in 1971, the poignant tale of a football player’s battle with cancer became an unexpected cultural phenomenon. Alongside the movie, Jeannie Morris’s book, “Brian Piccolo: A Short Season,” offered a deeper look into his life and struggle. Even decades later, Brian Piccolo’s story, particularly How Long Did Brian Piccolo Live After Diagnosis, remains a powerful narrative that resonates with contemporary discussions about cancer, treatment, and patient experiences.
While both the film and the book have faded somewhat from popular memory, they present enduring perspectives on cancer that are strikingly relevant today. “Brian’s Song” presented a softened, almost idealized portrayal of Piccolo’s illness, a style less common in today’s media. In contrast, Morris’s book adopted a more candid approach, foreshadowing the increased openness surrounding cancer in subsequent years. Examining how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis through both these lenses reveals important insights into how we understand and confront cancer even now.
Brian Piccolo, a running back for the Chicago Bears, began experiencing troubling symptoms in the fall of 1969, including a persistent cough and shortness of breath. The diagnosis was startling: a grapefruit-sized tumor in his mediastinum, the chest area behind the sternum. Further investigation revealed it to be embryonal cell carcinoma, a rare form of testicular cancer. This aggressive cancer led many to question, from the outset, how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis given the severity and location of the tumor.
Piccolo sought treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In November 1969, surgeons undertook a significant operation, removing the tumor and a portion of his lung where the cancer had spread. The discovery of cancer in a nearby lymph node necessitated chemotherapy as well. His surgeon, a football enthusiast and Bears fan, declared the surgery a success, and Piccolo reportedly felt “blessed and cured.” However, this initial optimism was tragically short-lived, and the question of how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis soon became a stark reality.
Within just four months, the cancer returned, this time in Piccolo’s chest wall. Further chemotherapy proved ineffective. Doctors then performed a radical mastectomy, a drastic and disfiguring surgery typically used for breast cancer. Two weeks later, in another attempt to halt the disease’s progression, surgeons removed the remainder of his affected lung. During this operation, they discovered even more cancer, beyond surgical removal. Cobalt treatment, a form of radiotherapy, followed in May, but despite these aggressive interventions, they were ultimately unsuccessful. Brian Piccolo passed away in June 1970 at the young age of 26. In total, Brian Piccolo lived approximately nine months after his initial cancer diagnosis in the fall of 1969.
“Brian’s Song” originated from Gale Sayers’ autobiography, “I Am Third,” published shortly after Piccolo’s death. Sayers, Piccolo’s teammate and a star running back, dedicated a chapter to their close friendship. Sayers, who was Black, and Piccolo, who was white, broke barriers as the Bears’ first interracial roommates. The quiet Sayers and the outgoing Piccolo developed a deep bond, making Sayers’ grief over Piccolo’s illness profound. The movie, which premiered on November 30, 1971, became an instant sensation, ranking as the fourth most-watched made-for-TV film at the time. The casting of future Hollywood stars James Caan and Billy Dee Williams as Piccolo and Sayers, respectively, and Michel Legrand’s moving score contributed to its success. However, the film’s emotional impact largely stemmed from the heartbreaking narrative of a young athlete succumbing to cancer during an era when open discussions about the disease were still uncommon. The film gained notoriety for being “the movie that made men cry,” yet it presented a sanitized version of how long Brian Piccolo suffered after diagnosis and the true nature of his illness.
The movie depicted Piccolo’s decline in a softened light. He remained stoic, making light of his situation and passively following medical advice, without showing much anger or despair. James Caan’s portrayal maintained a healthy appearance throughout the film. In a poignant scene shortly before his death, Piccolo, holding his wife Joy’s hand (played by Shelley Fabares), smiled faintly and remarked about his cancer with disbelief. This portrayal, while emotionally resonant, glossed over the harsh realities of his final months and the question of how long did Brian Piccolo truly endure after diagnosis in terms of suffering.
Jeannie Morris’s book offered a more realistic account. Piccolo’s radical mastectomy was emotionally and physically devastating. Morris described him as feeling “very frustrated” and “extremely mutilated.” As his condition worsened, Piccolo became increasingly withdrawn and spent most of his time at home, “simply drained — of everything.” He also endured constant facial pain as the tumor infiltrated his jaw and teeth. Morris detailed the relentless medical interventions even in his final days, describing the procedures as “torture.” This account provides a stark contrast to the movie, offering a more truthful perspective on how long Brian Piccolo’s ordeal lasted after diagnosis and the quality of his life during that time.
The enduring relevance of both the movie and the book lies in the difficult questions raised by Brian Piccolo’s illness and death. These questions persist today: How aggressively should cancer treatment be pursued, especially for young patients with low chances of survival? And when does optimism become detrimental? Considering how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis, and the treatments he endured during that period, prompts reflection on these critical issues.
Since Brian Piccolo’s time, cancer care has advanced significantly, yet many still succumb to the disease, including young individuals. A particularly tragic aspect of Piccolo’s story is that his final months were filled with misery due to relentless, ultimately futile, and toxic treatments. This reality sadly continues for some patients even today. The emergence of palliative care services offers a more patient-centered approach, focusing on treatment goals and symptom management in collaboration with patients and their families. Palliative care has even been shown to potentially extend life in some cases, offering a more humane alternative to solely aggressive treatments, especially when considering the limited time frame of how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis.
Studies suggest that doctors may sometimes be overly optimistic in their prognoses for cancer patients. While hope is crucial, especially early in the diagnosis, healthcare professionals must also be forthright when treatments are not as effective as hoped. It is likely Brian Piccolo sensed his impending death, but his doctors may have lacked the courage to have that difficult conversation. Modern cancer specialists are now trained to address not only treatment but also the limitations and potential harms of therapies. Cancer patients and their families, in partnership with their healthcare providers, must strive to make informed choices, learning from the unfortunate circumstances that characterized Brian Piccolo’s final days and the challenging question of how long did Brian Piccolo live after diagnosis with aggressive and ultimately unsuccessful treatments.
Barron H. Lerner is a professor of medicine and population health at New York University Langone Health and the author of “When Illness Goes Public: Celebrity Patients and How We Look at Medicine” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006).
