Community Rallies Around Palos Verdes Coach Diagnosed With Cancer

PALOS VERDES, CA — The Palos Verdes community is rallying around Brian Edelman, the beloved Palos Verdes High School basketball coach, after he announced he was diagnosed with cancer.

Edelman told his players the difficult news on the first day of school; he revealed he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer at 33 years old.

“The players were devastated by the news,” junior varsity coach John Schweisberger told the Los Angeles Times.

Edelman, a walk-on coach, was one of the youngest to ever be named the Daily Breeze coach of the year last season, the GoFundMe fundraiser said.

"He is extremely young for this type of cancer — doctors typically don’t even start looking for such a thing until age 50 or beyond," fundraiser organizer Margarita Schweisberger said.

In addition to the radiation and oral chemotherapy program he already started, Edelman will now need numerous hospitalizations for intensive, systemic IV chemotherapy, advanced genetic testing, clinical trials and more surgery to rid his body of the tumors and restore him to full health, she wrote.

Edelman has coached and mentored nearly 1,000 young athletes in the South Bay over the past 15 years through his work at PVHS, as a co-founder of the Cagers youth basketball program, as a coach at Redondo Union High School as well as volunteering at numerous camps and clinics, the fundraiser said.

"To know Brian is to understand that he is a sincere, caring and giving young man, dedicated to his family and friends and passionate about developing and preparing young athletes to deal with struggles and adversity," Schweisberger said. "Now he faces his own adversity. This was the last thing anyone – including Brian – ever expected to happen to him."

Edelman has given so much to our community, the fundraiser said.

"Please show your love, support, and gratitude in whatever way you can," the GoFundMe said. "Please share this with your friends and network — every donation is welcomed and deeply appreciated."

As of Thursday morning, $94,387 of the $100,000 goal has been raised.

For more information or to donate, visit the GoFundMe fundraiser.

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