Jim Kelly: Cancer Diagnosis ‘Another River To Cross’

Jim Kelly said his cancer diagnosis is scary to him and his family, but is ready to attack it with the same passion he had in leading the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls.

“When you hear the word cancer it actually scares the crap out of you,” Kelly told reporters at his celebrity golf tournament on Monday. “I know it not only scared me, but it scared my family. But like everything, it’s just another river to cross.”

The phrase Kelly used, “one more river to cross,” was a popular rallying cry for the Bills teams of the early 1990s.

Jim Kelly said he had been experiencing jaw pain for the last six months, and in March had a procedure to remove a cyst about the size of a nickel from his gums and nasal cavity.

Doctors diagnosed his cancer about two weeks ago, and Kelly said the prognosis is good.

“When I talked to the surgeon, and when they went over the CT scan, they knew I caught it early enough,” Kelly said. “But just like with anything, you have to wait a number of months after the surgery to make sure nothing comes back.

“I’m very confident. My faith is definitely there, and that’s probably more than anything what’s kept me going, and the support I’ve gotten from my family.”

Kelly is familiar with challenges. His son, Hunter, was born with Krabbe disease, a degenerative disorder of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Though doctors said Hunter would probably not live to his first birthday and very likely die before he turned 3, he lived to age 8.

“You have challenges, and you have to confront them head-on,” Kelly said. “This is just another one. I’ve been to the top many, many times, and I’ve been to the bottom. It’s just one of those roller coaster rides I’ve been on throughout my life, and it’s just another challenge for me. I know I’ll beat it. That’s the bottom line.”

Jim Kelly will have surgery for his cancer on June 7.