A FORMER GOPHER FOOTBALL PLAYER WHO DEFIED THE ODDS JUST BY MAKING IT ONTO THE FIELD IS NOW BATTLING CANCER. AN EIGHTH TIME. THE GOPHER NATION CONTINUES TO RALLY AROUND CASEY O'BRIEN, WHO IS ASKING FOR DONATIONS TO TRY A NEW CUTTING EDGE TREATMENT. AND OUR MARY MAGUIRE JOINING US NOW. AND SO, MARY, SUPPORT HAS BEEN POURING IN. IT HAS BEEN KELSEY. SO FAR, THE GOFUNDME PAGE THAT CASEY O'BRIEN HAS ESTABLISHED HAS RAISED MORE THAN $325,000. CASEY TELLS ME HE IS HUMBLED BY ALL THE SUPPORT HE HAS RECEIVED AND IS READY TO TACKLE CANCER FOR AN EIGHTH TIME. HERE'S HIS HOLD. CASEY O'BRIEN WAS ONE OF THE HEROES OF THE 2019 GOPHER FOOTBALL SEASON, SHARING AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT WITH COACH P.J. FLECK AFTER AN EXTRA POINT HOLD AGAINST RUTGERS. BUT NOW THIS HERO IS ASKING FOR A LITTLE HELP OF HIS OWN. THIS BEING THE SEVENTH TIME IT'S COME BACK, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T HEARD BEFORE. SO THE BIGGEST THING FOR US IS, YOU KNOW, HOW SOON CAN WE GET A PLAN IN PLACE AND START WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, GETTING IT TAKEN CARE OF? O'BRIEN IS BATTLING CANCER AGAIN, RECENTLY LEARNING OSTEOSARCOMA HAS RETURNED IN HIS LUNGS, LIVER AND LOWER BACK. THE 25 YEAR OLD HAS BEEN FIGHTING THE DISEASE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, UNDERGOING MORE THAN 40 SURGERIES AND MORE THAN 20 ROUNDS OF CHEMOTHERAPY. HE'S NOW TURNING TO CUTTING EDGE PROCEDURES TO TACKLE THE CANCER. WORKING WITH MAYO CLINIC AND RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER IN CHICAGO. INSURANCE WON'T COVER THE TREATMENTS BECAUSE THEY'RE SO NEW AND THEY AREN'T CHEAP. THIS WEEK, HE LAUNCHED A GOFUNDME PAGE AND HAS BEEN BLOWN AWAY BY THE RESPONSE. IT'S BEEN QUITE THE WHIRLWIND, VERY. YOU KNOW, UPLIFTING, HUMBLING. INSPIRING JUST TO SEE ALL THE PEOPLE REACHING OUT, WANTING TO HELP. IN JUST 24 HOURS, HIS GOAL WAS MET AND THEN SOME. IT'S FUN TO READ ALL THE NAMES SEEING, YOU KNOW, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSMATES, HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATES, YOU KNOW, COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ALL THESE DIFFERENT PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER. AND THEN SO MANY PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW. O'BRIEN HAS MADE IT HIS MISSION TO HELP THOSE FIGHTING THE SAME DISEASE, WORKING TO RAISE $1 MILLION FOR THE MASONIC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. IT WAS TOUGH TO ASK FOR HELP HIMSELF, BUT HE KNEW THE TIME WAS RIGHT. WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING THIS BATTLE FOR 11 YEARS, AND YOU KNOW, NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS. BUT KIND OF FELT LIKE THE RIGHT TIME. AND THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT IS HAS REASSURED US OF THAT. NOW, CASEY WILL BEGIN HIS TREATMENT PLAN NEXT WEEK. THAT WILL INCLUDE SOME NONINVASIVE SURGERY. KELSEY AND RANDY