Jim Kelly to Begin Chemo, Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer Next Week

NEW YORK, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly will start chemotherapy and radiation treatments targeting cancer cells in his maxillary sinus and adjacent tissues next week, Peter D. Costantino, MD, executive director of Lenox Hill Hospital's New York Head & Neck Institute, reported today.

Mr. Kelly will be receiving a single dose of chemotherapy at Lenox Hill Hospital, along with concurrent daily radiation therapy treatments.  The chemotherapy will be repeated as an outpatient in approximately three weeks and six weeks.  The radiation therapy will be a six-week regimen carried out at the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute's Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success, NY, which is home to a new $47 million, 30,000-square-foot radiation medicine facility that opened earlier this year.

"At the conclusion of chemotherapy and radiation, we will wait two-to-three months to determine the status of his cancer before deciding if surgery will be necessary," said Dr. Costantino, a leading authority on cranial base tumor surgery and craniofacial reconstruction.

Dr. Costantino noted that Mr. Kelly has not been previously treated with chemotherapy or radiation, so he said he is confident that this current treatment regimen has a good chance of successfully impacting the cancer. "As I have stated previously, Jim Kelly's condition remains very treatable and potentially curable," he said. "Even if chemotherapy and radiation are not successful in eradicating the cancer, his skull-base tumor remains operable."

About the New York Head & Neck Institute

The New York Head & Neck Institute (NYHNI), part of North Shore-LIJ Health System, provides seamless, integrated care across several specialty fields for people with disorders of the head and neck. Our physicians and surgeons all have regional, national or international reputations within their particular head and neck specialty areas. They bring vast experience and training to effectively diagnose and treat head and neck disorders while providing the most advanced patient-centered care.

SOURCE Lenox Hill Hospital