NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after diag.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

One of the great offensive lineman of all times.

One of the people that have made the NFL into the game it is today.

People complain about him but I will consider him one of the giants of the game.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

TrueBeliever said:

Pancreatic cancer is reportedly one of the most difficult to treat, if it's treatable at all. One of my dad's uncles was diagnosed with it and was gone within months, and this was a man who was very health conscious. My dad was dumbfounded, saying his uncle never smoked, drank alcohol only on very special occasions, stayed in shape, etc. Then he went to the doctor one day and it was all over.

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It definitely is..usually when they find out it is way too late to do anything. From what I heard in a late report it was only last weekend, Sunday, when he knew..YIKES!! Pretty sad. They were talking about who might succeed..Berthelson...Kessler..they might be more like Goodell..hacks who were hanging around. I HOPE they have some new blood in it all..those clowns might not really get it.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

Pats726 said:

It definitely is..usually when they find out it is way too late to do anything. From what I heard in a late report it was only last weekend, Sunday, when he knew..YIKES!! Pretty sad. They were talking about who might succeed..Berthelson...Kessler..they might be more like Goodell..hacks who were hanging around. I HOPE they have some new blood in it all..those clowns might not really get it.

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Those clowns may be more familar with the current CBA issue though. Tough choice coming up for the players as to who should succeed. I am sure there are guys who might be the best fit longterm but there may be other guys who are better for the current negotiating.

IMO they will have a hard time finding someone better than Upshaw

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

Rob0729 said:

You may be right, but my guess is that people knew he wasn't well even if they didn't know how serious it was. The could have played in the attempted coupe d'etat.

I also agree that Upshaw doesn't get the credit for building the league that he should. He played a huge role in making the NFL the biggest team sport in the country and keeping labor peace. My only real complaint about the guy is how he treated former players.

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Upshaw didn't know about the cancer until last Sunday.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Wow, 4 days?? That is incredibly sad for him and his family. In that type of situation, you barely have time to say goodbye to your loved ones.

RIP Gene.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

I don't know that pancreatic cancer cells grown in vitro would be more difficult to kill than other cancer cells.

But the reason it is such a terrible disease has to do with the way the tumors grow. As a rule, the tumors themselves tend to be painless as they're growing. Eventually, though, it either metastasizes, or b/c of the anatomy of the pancreas, starts to constrict the small intestine. And that's when the real badness starts.

[As a simple analogy--consider testicular and ovarian cancer. Testicular cancer has a much higher survival rate in part because it is almost always caught earlier than ovarian cancer, because the symptoms of it are, for relatively obvious reasons, almost always easier to detect.]

Re: Unconfirmed Report from PFW - Upshaw Dead at 63

What the hell ??? Rest in Peace Mr. Upshaw but wow, this is a total shock.


Prayers and Condolences go out to him and his family.

RIP

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Given all the recent stuff going on between Upshaw and part of the players in the union, this is really ironic. I don't know if that's the right word to use, but it's just weird. Hopefully they can get a replacement in place in time to get the new contract worked out.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

He'll be remembered as a great player and a surprisingly effective union leader, given the powerful opposition. It's not worth the price of a man's life, obviously, but this may ease some of the tensions between he union and owners about the upcoming CBA that will need to be hammered out. It's unfortunate that the issue of his continuing as head of the player's association, in spite of several dissenting members, ends up being resolved like this, but maybe it will make labor peace in upcoming negotiations a bit easier to achieve.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

I don't much about him as a player, although I'm sure he was well respected to reach the position he was in. But I can definitely say he was a total piece of garbage as the NFLPA director. Regardless... may he rest in peace.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

How did the cancer kill him so quick? 4 days?

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Raffy15 said:

How did the cancer kill him so quick? 4 days?

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Apparently pancreatic cancer usually isn't detected until its final stage.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Raffy15 said:

How did the cancer kill him so quick? 4 days?

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It didn't. It had been there for a long time. The problem with pancreatic cancer is that it's extremely hard to detect before it becomes advanced. Typically you don't start getting pain or other symptoms until the tumor has metastasized and started obstructing the bowel. When it is diagnosed, it's usually very advanced, and treatment is nearly impossible. Life expectancy from that point is very low, and most people die a short time afterward.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

pats1 said:

Upshaw didn't know about the cancer until last Sunday.

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Yeah, I just read it. My bad. I didn't realize that with pacreatic cancer that you don't show signs until it is usually too late.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

One of the best Raider players of all time,If not the best.

I was not crazy about how he ran the NFLPA but I do respect the man for all he gave to the sport of Professional Football

Rest in Peace Mr. Upshaw :rip:

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Raffy15 said:

How did the cancer kill him so quick? 4 days?

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Pacreatic cancer doesn't show signs until the very end. This type of cancer only has a 20% one year survival rate and 4% five year survival rate. It acts fast once detected.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer

Demeure en paix.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

This might sound strange, but now that I think about it Gene seemed to have lost some weight recently. This very well could have been the cause for that weight loss.

In any case, this is sad news and may he Rest in peace.

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

Richter said:

He'll be remembered as a great player and a surprisingly effective union leader, given the powerful opposition. It's not worth the price of a man's life, obviously, but this may ease some of the tensions between he union and owners about the upcoming CBA that will need to be hammered out. It's unfortunate that the issue of his continuing as head of the player's association, in spite of several dissenting members, ends up being resolved like this, but maybe it will make labor peace in upcoming negotiations a bit easier to achieve.

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I hope so. I can see both sides of the debate in these issues - the players want more money because they're the ones earning it, while the owners are (mostly) businessmen who want to keep costs down. I think the NHL players really made fools of themselves during their lockout a couple years ago, because it was hard to argue with the owners' point that they were going to have trouble down the road with 75% of their revenue going to the players.

Anyway, I hate these labor disputes because no one looks very good during them, so when they come up I find it hard to like anyone. Hopefully after this they can take a step back and say, "Whoa, okay, maybe we were a little too intense. Let's calm down and just try to work this out."

Re: NFLPA Exec. Director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of pancreatic cancer, 4 days after di

pats1 said:

Apparently pancreatic cancer usually isn't detected until its final stage.

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yeah it is undetectable and the symptoms are usually thought to be something else. I have lost 2 uncles, my mom and brother as well as several other people I have known to this.
my brother went to the hospital for 2 months with a rib injury until it was diagnosed to be pancreatic, he had a Surgery called the Whipple , as did my mom where they remove the infected porion of the pancreas (head or Tail or all of it) some stomache, some intestine, and a bunch of other stuff.

my 2 uncles they opened and closed because it spread that quickly

others I have known have passed 2 and 4 days later.

a silent killer

RIP Gene

I pray for you, your family and the NFL season next year