Kellys Thankful as Cancer Treatment Ends

Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly has completed his six weeks of treatment for the recurrence of oral cancer.The NFL football star got his last dose of radiation Wednesday,and finished chemotherapy last week.The radiation was particularly painful,causing him to lose the skin from the roof of his mouth.He had to be fed through a tube.
His wife,Jill Kelly,tweeted the following:
At 1 pm today!IT IS FINISHED!
GLORY TO GOD!!!!
DONE!
She went on to tweet:
High Fives.Tears.And A LOT OF THANKS AND PRAISE!!!!
Again,THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!*
Next will be two to three months of assessment to deteremine if more surgery will be needed.Jim underwent his first operation last June.The squamous cell carcinoma returned and started to spread up his orbital nerve.
This blog will stay on the story.

Jim Kelly Speaks Out on Cancer,Buffalo Bills Sale

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is a man fighting two battles at once.One is against the agressive oral cancer that threatens his life;the other is against the commercial interests in Ontario,Canada or elsewhere that may buy and eventually relocate his beloved Buffalo Bills,who are for sale following the death of founder and owner Ralph Wilson.In a statement released Thursday by his company,Jim Kelly,Inc.,Kelly said this cancer has been rough.It's hurt really bad and the treatments have kicked my butt.But my faith in God is strong and I'm back home in Buffalo working with a good team of doctors.I'm not out of the woods by any means,but we think the treatments are going well and I know I'm going to beat this.*
In an interview with The Buffalo News,Jim went into considerable detail about his struggles.It just seems like you're falling apart,the Western New York hero said.I went two weeks without eating.No tastebuds,no nothing.I wasn't getting any nutrition.Finally they had to put a feeding tube in.The radiation is burning my mouth.I have no skin on the roof of my mouth,but I'm getting through it.I've had such a supporting cast,not only from my family,but from Western New York-and all over the world.That surprised me.I have eight more radiation treatments and one more chemo treatment left.
I've gotten a number of emails from people who have been through the same thing with suggestions on how to deal with it.That helps.I fight every battle every day.I'm not scared to die.I know my tomorrows are going to be better than today.I know I'm going to see my late son again.
I still have so many things I've got to do-making sure the Bills stay in Buffalo.I'm battling,but it's not the battle I want to fight right now.I'm trying to do all I can right now.
Keep voicing your opinion.Whoever the new owner is,Western New York has to be the destination.Donald Trump is excited.We should know in the next six months who the players are,a very alert and determined Jim Kelly told sports writer Mark Gaughan from his black leather rocker with a red pillow.

Jim Kelly Makes Video For Fans

Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly made a short video for his fans last week,which was posted to Facebook.The Buffalo Bills legend was halfway through his treatment regimen for oral cancer that had recurred following surgery last June.His wife Jill said it was a stretch for Jim to make the video,but he wanted to thank everyone for their support.
Jim asked for their continued prayers because he still needs them.Without the prayers,he couldn't make it through his ordeal.As of last week,he had been through 19 radiation treatments and two rounds of chemotherapy for the spreading squamous cell carcinoma.His eyes were alert and his voice sounded fairly strong,although his speech was slightly slurred.
Jim's been following the NFL draft very closely and watched it with his family tonight.He correctly predicted that the Buffalo Bills would trade up and select Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins.
Jim's former teammate Thurman Thomas has been visiting him regularly now he is at home in Buffalo being treated on an outpatient basis since Easter.Thomas said Jim is doing much better than when he was in a New York City hospital.Still,there are bad days along with the good,and the challenge is by no means over.This blog intends to stay on the case and keep the support rolling.

Windows XP:The OS That Will Not Die

Microsoft,facing a new round of criticism for abandoning users of the Windows XP operating system and its Internet Explorer browser in light of a recently discovered security threat,has changed its mind-at least this once.In a Thursday blog post,Microsoft's General Manager of Trustworthy Computing,Adrienne Hall,wrote that we take a huge amount of pride that,among widely used browsers,Internet Explorer is the safest in the world due to its secure development and the ability to protect customers,even in the face of cybercriminals who want to break it.This means that when we saw the first reports about this vulnerability,we said fix it,fix it fast,and fix it for all our customers.So we did.
We made this exception based on the proximity to the end of support for Windows XP.Just because this update is out now doesn't mean you should stop thinking about getting off Windows XP and moving to a newer version of Windows and the latest version of Internet Explorer,Ms.Hall added.
The threat,posed by the hacker team "Operation Clandestine Fox," was discovered last weekend by FireEye,a cybersecurity firm and Microsoft Partner.The hackers targeted the latest IE versions,IE 9-IE 11.Microsoft said it wouldn't be supplying a fix to most Windows XP users because it had ended support on April 8,but critics argued Microsoft was ethically obligated to provide a patch for the new problem as it had made a ton of money off its Windows XP customers.
The patch was rolled out Friday at 10 am and will be sent to Windows XP customers who have the automatic update feature on.An estimated 27% of the world's computers still run Windows XP,despite Microsoft's best efforts to wean them off the popular OS.Those who can afford to are paying Microsoft for extended support.
Jim Kelly update:On Tuesday April 29,Jill Kelly tweeted the following:
Week 4,Day 2 of radiation
Round 2 of Chemo...getting pumped up and ready RIGHT NOW
Jim's fans have been tweeting pictures of themselves wearing their "#12 Kelly Tough" wristbands.Support for the Buffalo Bills football legend in his struggle with head and neck cancer has never been stronger.

A Message From Jim Kelly

While taking the Easter holiday off from cancer treatment in New York City at his Buffalo area home,Pro Football Hall of Fame member Jim Kelly issued this message on Instagram:
#12 has a quick HOMECOMING message for #BUFFALO and our amazing fans!WE ARE SO BLESSED by your love and we thank God for you!Keep praying!The battle isn't over!But we are confident in the ONE who leads the charge!And we celebrate Him!!#prayersforJK
Well,Jim got to go home after all.For a while there,it didn't look like it would happen,but he was blessed in the end,thank God.

Sherpas Killed in Everest Avalanche-plus a Jim Kelly update

Just below 6400 meters/21,000 feet on Mount Everest,six Nepalese sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche and nine more were missing.The guides had been fixing ropes ahead of mountain climbers waiting for the weather to clear at Camp 2.The avalanche billowed over an area known as the Popcorn Field.Rescuers,including climbers,attempted to aid the sherpa guides,assisted by three helicopters dispatched from the Nepalese capital,Kathmandu.Nepal stations security and other personnel at Base Camp at 5300 meters/17,380 feet during climbing season in April and May.
Since it was first climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary and his sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in 1953,Mount Everest has drawn increasing numbers of climber tourists,and hundreds of lives have been lost in the attempt to scale the world's highest peak in its volatile weather conditions.At times,this has caused a circus atmosphere,compromised safety and environmental degradation.*
Update:NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly will be spending Easter in New York City,his wife Jill tweeted,where he is undergoing cancer treatment.The Buffalo Bills legend and his family had hoped to spend the weekend at their suburban Buffalo home.He had some rough days following his first chemotherapy session this week,then a few good days.The treatment was painful as it targeted cancer cells attached to nerves in his maxillary sinus and adjacent tissues.He will receive more chemo at weeks three and six,as well as five radiation treatments a week.
Jim has been in the hospital for three weeks now.He initially had oral surgery for a squamous cell carcinoma of the jaw last June,but the cancer recurred and started to spread.

Buffalo Bills Attracting Potential Bidders-plus a Jim Kelly update

With the death of Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson at age 95 on March 25,the future of his beloved NFL franchise is up for grabs.His widow,Mary Wilson,is keeping an eye on the team until its eventual sale,which could occur as early as this summer.Interest in bidding for the team is coming from north of the border in the shape of a Toronto group which includes rock star Jon Bon Jovi,who has long been determined to become an NFL owner.His publicist confirmed Bon Jovi is still "passionately interested" Thursday,but wouldn't comment further.
A number of ideas about the team are being floated,ranging from moving them to Niagara County,closer to their growing legion of Canadian fans,to actually moving them to Toronto or even Los Angeles.It all depends on who evetually acquires the team.They will have to stay in their current home in Orchard Park,New York under the terms of a lease they have with Erie County until 2020 at the earliest.Ralph Wilson Stadium in Erie County is 41 years old and undergoing a 130 million dollar facelift to bring it up to NFL standards with structural upgrades and fan amenities.A move to Toronto,including the purchase price,new stadium and practice facilities,could cost upwards of an estimated 2.5 billion dollars.
Backing the Toronto group in a potential bid for the Bills is Maple Leaf Sports& Entertainment,the owners of a number of other franchises,including the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL team,the Toronto Raptors NBA franchise,as well as the MLS soccer team Toronto FC.Other bidders could include Rogers Communications,who are the owners of Rogers Centre in Toronto,and a Los Angeles group.
Locally,a working group of public and private community leaders is studying the Bills' future.The Bills are New York state's only NFL franchise,since the New York Giants and New York Jets are actually based in New Jersey.The Bills bring in about 20 million dollars in tax revenue annually.
About 18% of the fans at Bills home games are Canadian.NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that they have worked very hard in Buffalo,and obviously Western New York and Southern Ontario to regionalise that team,to attract a broader area.Again,that's important and that's something that we want to encourage,Mr.Goodell emphasised.
For some time,the Bills have played one of thir home games in Toronto.Even further afield,there has recently been an annual NFL game in London,England,and some talk of basing a franchise there as well.*
Update:Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly completed his first of three rounds of chemotherapy on Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.He is also to receive radiation treatments over the next six weeks.His wife,Jill Kelly,tweeted the following message:First round of chemo
DONE.Be glorified even in this Lord!
Jim has been suffering from severe headaches since his oral cancer surgery in June,which were eventually discovered to be from microscopic tumours forming from his lips up to his cheek along the infraorbital nerve.His doctor says his cancer is very treatable and possibly curable.
Before he left for the hospital,Jim had a good visit with former NFL teammates Thurman Thomas,Bruce Smith and Andre Reed.A lot of people have been tweeting their prayers and support for Jim since then.It's a lot stronger than any medicine,Jill Kelly says.

NFL Great Jim Kelly's Cancer Treatment Set

The beloved former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly,who led the NFL team to four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991-94,remains in New York's Lenox Hill Hospital,where he is scheduled to begin treatment for his aggressive head and neck cancer next Monday.He has endured a lot of pain and weakness recently,but is still determined to regain his health,bolstered by strong support and prayers from family and his Western New York fan base.
Last summer,part of Jim's jaw and some teeth were removed during oral surgery for a squamous cell carcinoma.Since then,however,the cancer has reportedly started to spread countless microscopic tumors up the infraorbital nerve,dangerously close to the carotid artery.Jim said he had complained about his headaches for months,but thought they were just part of healing from his June 2013 surgery.Routine testing recently diagnosed the recurring malignancy.*
In an April 1 statement on Jim's condition released by Lenox Hill Hospital,Peter Constantino,MD,executive director of the New York Head&Neck Institute,said Jim will start treatment next week targeting cancer cells in his maxillary sinus and adjacent tissues.He will receive a single dose of chemotherapy along with concurrent daily radiation treatments.The chemotherapy will be repeated on an outpatient basis in about three and six weeks.The radiation therapy will be a six week regimen at North Shore LIJ Cancer Institute Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success,New York,which has a new,47 million dollar,30,000 square foot radiation medicine faciltity that opened earlier this year.
At the conclusion of these treatments,we will wait two to three months to determine the status of his cancer before deciding if surgery will be necessary,Dr.Constantino said.I am confident that this current regimen has a good chance of successfully impacting Jim's cancer.
As I have stated previously,Jim Kelly's condition remains very treatable and potentially curable.Even if chemotherapy and radiation are not successful in eradicating the cancer,his skull-base tumor remains operable,the leading authority on cranial base tumor surgery and facial reconstruction concluded.
Head and neck cancer has been linked to tobacco use,heavy drinking and the human papilloma virus.

Growth Trajectory:NFL Sets London Schedule

In a possible buildup to London securing its own National Football League franchise,the NFL has announced there will be three regular season games there next year.In Week 4,the Oakland Raiders will play the Miami Dolphins.In Week 8,the Atlanta Falcons will face the Detroit Lions.Finally,on Week 10 the Dallas Cowboys will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.All games will be at Wembley Stadium.*
The London fans have been most supportive of all the NFL games there to this point.The city and stadium want more games there as well.And a weak franchise such as the Jacksonville Jaguars,who have played several London games,would be a logical candidate to move there.*
As a business,the NFL has largely reached saturation point in the United States.The growth trajectory is pretty much to London and Canada. This Sunday,the Atlanta Falcons will play the Buffalo Bills at Rogers Centre in Toronto.Since 2008,the Bills have played an annual regular season game in Toronto,becoming in effect a regional franchise.Hundreds of thousands of Canadian fans venture south regularly to attend games in border cities such as Buffalo and Seattle,or watch the teams on television.NFL Canada handles the league's business north of the border,and works closely with the Canadian Football League to promote the sport in Canada.*
In Thanksgiving holiday action,the Baltimore Ravens snuck past the Pittsburgh Steelers 22-20;the Dallas Cowboys edged the Oakland Raiders 31-24;and the Detroit Lions smashed the Green Bay Packers 40-10.

NFL Great Jim Kelly To Have Cancer Surgery

Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly,53,will undergo cancer surgery today,June 7,to remove part of his upper right jaw.He has a squamous cell carcinoma,a type of skin cancer that can form in the jaw bone.Surgery is typically indicated when the cancer is discovered at an early stage.
More than 90% of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas.Squamous cells are the lining of the throat and mouth.Some of them may become abnormal,or cancerous.
About 80% of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers are linked to heavy alcohol use;70% are linked to tobacco use,either smoking or chewing tobacco;25% are linked to human papilloma virus,which also causes cervical cancer.Heredity may also be a factor.
Following removal of the tumor,surgical reconstruction of the oral cavity and implanting of a prosthetic device may be required to assist with speaking,chewing and smiling.
Oral cancer screening is painless and may be performed by a dentist as part of a regular dental exam.
Jim Kelly said he is doing his best to keep his spirits up in the face of his diagnosis.So far,there is no evidence the tumour has spread.
Kelly led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls from 1991-94,and was a four-time Pro Bowl all star.He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002,as soon as he was eligible.Today he runs a football camp for children and hosts a charity golf tournament every year,which he intends to do this year even with his health condition.
Update:Jim Kelly is recovering comfortably following surgery at Erie County Medical Center,his doctors said in a statement.He underwent a partial maxillectomy,or removal of the jaw bone,to remove a squamous cell carcinoma of the upper gingival caused by chronic irritation at the gum site.He underwent reconstruction with a dental obturator,or prosthetic plate.
The surgery went very well.We are hopeful for and anticipate a speedy recovery and successful outcome,his doctors concluded.