Lincoln County boy gets surprise from Carolina Panthers on ‘Ellen’

Braylon Beam, a 6-year-old Denver, N.C., boy battling brain cancer, got a surprise on Wednesday’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” from Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton.

Rivera invited Braylon, who hopes to grow up to be his successor, to be the ceremonial “Keep Pounding” drummer during a home game this season.

“I admire your positive attitude and energy,” said Rivera, a self-proclaimed “big Braylon Beam fan,” in a prepared video. “You’re exactly the type of person we need to help motivate our football team.”

Newton sent Braylon a Panthers gift basket, which included a signed helmet and a personalized jersey.

DeGeneres invited the kindergartener and his parents, Jesse and Meredith, to Los Angeles after watching one of Braylon’s weekly dance videos, which he shoots during his chemotherapy sessions at Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology in Charlotte and have caught national attention.

The family also received a 2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid and $10,000 from Shutterfly.

Braylon, who was featured in a Lake Norman News article in April, has a malignant tumor growing on his optic nerve that was discovered in February after he began having difficulty seeing the board at school.

This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Lincoln County boy gets surprise from Carolina Panthers on ‘Ellen’."