SPORTS

Jim Kelly’s health remains good after beating cancer

June 30th, 2022

Bills Hall of Fame quarterback had a long battle with oral cancer that gave him a bleak prognosis and required multiple surgeries on his jaw, radiation and chemotherapy. But more than three years after announcing that the cancer was gone, Kelly says there’s been no recurrence and his health is now good.

While hosting his football camp in Buffalo and throwing passes to kids, Kelly spoke with his speech only mildly affected, and said he’s healthy.

“I still feel good,” he said, via the Buffalo News. “Mouth still hurts every once in a while, doing all the talking. But overall, I love it. I really do.”

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Kelly said he’s now more concerned about the health of others, including Ed Abramoski, the longtime Bills trainer who recently died at the age of 88, and Bills owner Kim Pegula, who is recovering from an undisclosed health issue that has required her to be hospitalized.

“Eddie Abramoski, who passed away, was not only a very good friend of mine, but he was my trainer, my whole career,” Kelly said. “We miss him, and we’re all going back and forth with that. And then now with Kim Pegula, struggling now and praying for her.”

Kelly said his only ailment now is feeling old when the young campers tell him where they heard about him.

“Their grandfathers and grandmothers told them about me,” he said. “It wasn’t a mom and dad, it was grandfathers and grandmothers.”

Curated By

Maya Gupta
Investigative Journalist | Grassroots Movement Organizer | Economy Consultant/Speaker
Maya Gupta writes from the fault lines of a world that refuses to stay quiet. Focused on the collisions between culture, power, and accountability, her work cuts past polished narratives to expose what’s really moving beneath the surface. From the rise of creator-driven influence to athlete activism and grassroots resistance, she tracks the momentum shaping a generation unwilling to wait its turn. Her reporting doesn’t cater to comfort, it confronts it, challenging institutions that lean on legacy instead of legitimacy. With a voice rooted in urgency and a lens tuned to those often ignored, Maya delivers coverage that reflects the stakes as they are, not as they’re packaged. This is journalism that doesn’t just observe change, it stands in the middle of it, documenting the push, the backlash, and the undeniable shift underway.

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