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

[Leave No Doubt]

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

Godspeed to him.

The timing is indeed ironic.Hall of Famer, NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw dead at 63 "Despite the criticism, players prospered under Upshaw.

The salary cap for this season is $116 million and the players are making close to 60 percent of the 32 teams' total revenues, as specified in the 2006 agreement. In all, the players will be paid $4.5 billion this year, according to owners."

And such a great career too.
I guess you just never know.

 

[reflexblue]

Re: Unconfirmed Report from PFW - Upshaw Dead at 63

RIP Gene. What a silent deadly killer. Here today and literally gone tomorrow.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

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

Man, that is sooooo scary. Makes me want to go get tested.

 

[NormZauchin]

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

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.

My mother died of pancreatic cancer. For several years prior to her actually incurring the disease, she sufferred from pre-cancerous lesions which eventually became cancerous. There is a surgery called the Whipple procedure that offers a possible cure, but it has been called the "Mount Everest" of surgeries and leaves the patient a diabetic without any guarantee that the cancer hasn't spread. My mother elected not to have it done.
Given the long term pain that my mother endured, even in the lesions stage, I have a hard time believing that Upshaw received the diagnosis so late.

 

[Richter]

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

My mother died of pancreatic cancer. For several years prior to her actually incurring the disease, she sufferred from pre-cancerous lesions which eventually became cancerous. There is a surgery called the Whipple procedure that offers a possible cure, but it has been called the "Mount Everest" of surgeries and leaves the patient a diabetic without any guarantee that the cancer hasn't spread. My mother elected not to have it done.
Given the long term pain that my mother endured, even in the lesions stage, I have a hard time believing that Upshaw received the diagnosis so late.

Yeah, what I know about the Whipple, makes it seem like a longshot at best, especially because they have to resect the entire head of the pancreas, avoiding the vascular elements lest the patient bleed out, and it can't be done if the cancer has metastasized or if the tumor extends into the tail end of the pancreas. That said, it's a pretty common thing that people receive the news so late, because both the symptoms vary greatly depending on how and where the cancer manifests itself on the pancreas, and many times patients avoid the doctor because the symptoms are not "serious" enough to merit a visit. I've talked with a few people in the medical field about it (amazing the things you talk about over dinner when your girlfriend's favorite time in college was gross anatomy...), and everything I've heard has pointed to the idea that the disease comes in many shapes and forms, and can range from debilitating to nearly undetectable.