Former UM QB Jim Kelly Diagnosed With Cancer
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Legendary former University of Miami and Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly revealed Monday he is battling cancer in his upper jaw bone.
Kelly said he is suffering from squamous cell carcinoma, but the cancer has been isolated in his jaw and has not metastasized to other parts of his body. The announcement came just before the quarterback's annual celebrity golf tournament.
"Because of the nature of social media, I thought it would be best to share with everyone what has been going on with my health," Kelly said. "Doctors have told me that my prognosis for recovery is very good."
Kelly played for 11 seasons with the Bills and led the team to multiple Super Bowl berths. He threw for 35,467 yards, 237 touchdowns, and had 26 300-yard games as the quarterback for head coach Marv Levy's offense.
"I am extremely confident in my road to recovery," Kelly said. "I plan to tackle this challenge head on, as we Kelly's always do, with toughness perseverance and faith."
"Jim's a fighter. We think he'll be OK. We're all in his corner," former Bills receiver Andre Reed said. "He's such a resilient guy, and that's been our motto forever, in whatever we did. He's got the support, and Jim will be OK."
Kelly played quarterback at the University of Miami and helped build the powerhouse program The U became in the 1980's. Kelly was 406-646 for 5,233 yards and 32 touchdowns during his career with the Canes.
Kelly was elected to the UM Hall of Fame in 1992 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
