Swansea teen battling cancer receives world of support from local community

SWANSEA, Mass. (WLNE) — Tonight, there was a meaningful mission for one town in the Bay State, with 13-year-old Brayden Cabral of Swansea at the center of thoughts and action.

Cabral was recently diagnosed with leukemia and has been receiving care at Boston Children’s Hospital since the last week of February.

His family said they are overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the support he’s been receiving while in the hospital.

“To everyone who has reached and shown support, done anything, I can’t thank you enough,” said Kelly DiGiammo, Brayden’s mother. “Because, honestly, at the end of the day, that is what he is looking at, and he is blown away by the effect he has had on other people.”

A GoFundMe page for Brayden started just a week ago and has already raised over $40,000 to help the family.

“He literally looked at me in bed while receiving chemo,” DiGiammo recounted. “And he was like, ‘Mom, how do I tell all of these people thank you? Why do I deserve this support?”

The support has come from all facets of life, with fundraisers at a local restaurants, teammates selling candy bars on the street, and Brayden’s little league organizing a day at Fenway Park in April.

Coach Michael Soares of Swansea Little League spoke highly of Brayden.

“Everything about Brayden when on the baseball field is about the team,” Soares said. “He is always smiling, whatever you need coach, that is the type of player he is. High fiving his teammates, hustles, that’s what Brayden is there to do.”

There’s a long road ahead for Brayden, with several rounds of chemo treatments and a stem cell transplant in the future.

But it’s a battle he won’t have to fight alone.