Great news coming out of Buffalo yesterday as Hall of Fame Bills Quarterback Jim Kelly announced that the surgery to remove a tumor from his jaw was a success, and doctors have told him that he is cancer free and does not need further radiation or chemotherapy.
Kelly made the announcement when talking to reporters at the start of his annual football camp for kids on Monday.
“I found out great news on Wednesday,” Kelly said. “I don’t have to go through radiation treatment and chemo, which is a blessing. From what I’ve been told everything that they did in surgery, if I had to do radiation or chemo it would put me way back.”
“The worst part about my cancer is it’s right here in the area of my mouth,” Kelly added. “They had to remove most of my jaw on my left side. It’s very, very sore, but it takes time. I know when you have knee surgery or shoulder surgery it’s sore for a small period of time and rehab and everything is good and you just take your time. This is just constant pain for now, but it’s a small price to pay for where I’ll be later on down the road.”
Kelly’s surgery was done earlier this month.
This episode is not the first such challenge for Kelly in his post football career. In 1997 his son, Hunter, was born with Krabbe’s disease, a rare disorder of the nervous system. Doctor’s initially said that Hunter would only live to be about 3 years old, but the young Kelly fought bravely before succumbing to the crippling disease in 1995, at the age of eight. Hunter’s predicament and battle would lead to Kelly and his wife Jill establishing Hunter’s Hope a charitable foundation dedicated to helping parents with children with Krabbe’s disease, and to helping find a cure for Krabbe’s as well.
Kelly has long been involved in charitable works for children, as Kelly for Kids was established in 1987.
You can donate to the charities at http://www.kellyforkids.com/ and http://huntershope.org
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