04/23/24
October 21, 2011
Jerome Harrison’s failed physical turned up a brain tumor: The reason for Jerome Harrison's(notes) failed physical, the one that voided the trade between the Lions and Eagles, was a brain tumor.
Man, he's lucky he got traded. But, yeah, I'm surprised that professional football players aren't subjected to the kind of scrutiny that turned this up on a more regular basis.
posted by tahoemoj at 07:25 PM on October 21, 2011
I would be willing to believe that teams pretty much let the veterans take care of themselves until there's an apparent problem. Whether its because they're grown men or because the teams don't want to know about issues unless they affect on-field performance is a toss-up.
posted by Etrigan at 08:25 PM on October 21, 2011
From what I've read he had a physical at the beginning of the season. He might not have had a CT to spot any lesions or masses until the trade though. He was apparently complaining of headaches during the physical, promoting the more in-depth examination.
posted by apoch at 08:56 PM on October 21, 2011
He was apparently complaining of headaches during the physical
That's usually the first (and only) symptom of a brain tumor. My wife's brother died of one that was not detected until much too late. He had no clue anything was wrong until the headaches became quite severe. Hope Harrison doesn't fall into this category and that his treatment will be successful.
posted by Howard_T at 03:02 PM on October 22, 2011
I'm glad that he got the physical, but I'm surprised that NFL teams don't do routine physicals anyway.