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Thread: Eagles DC Johnson has Cancer

  1. #1
    Legendary Rat HOFer vince's Avatar
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    Eagles DC Johnson has Cancer

    This explains some things. His previous occurrence of skin cancer has recurred and spread to his spine and elsewhere. It's good to see his spirits are up and he says he hopes to continue coaching. God bless Jim Johnson and his entire family as he fights this cancer and goes through radiation.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...reatments.html

    Eagles coach Johnson fighting cancer
    By Bob Brookover
    Inquirer Staff Writer

    TAMPA – Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was told Monday that he has melanoma skin cancer in his spine, the team disclosed today.

    Johnson, who has been in charge of Andy Reid’s defense during the head coach’s 10 seasons with the Eagles, has begun radiation treatments at Bryn Mawr Hospital after initially being diagnosed by doctors at Pennsylvania Hospital.

    The cancer is a recurrence.

    “The original site was a skin cancer in 2001,” team trainer Rick Burkholder said.

    “Who knows where it tracked to from there, but his symptoms came from the spine. Now there are some other areas in his body (that have cancer), but I’m not going to get into where else some other stuff is. They will all be treated together. The main deal is his back right now. He’s got a bone tumor down in his low back and that’s what we have to attack right now.”

    Burkholder said no surgery is scheduled for Johnson. Burkholder also believes that Johnson intends to continue coaching.

    “They’re going to go with radiation right now,” the trainer said. “One of the problems is he’s in a lot of pain from the tumor on his spine and the radiation will calm some of that pain down and let him get back to a little bit more normal walking and stuff like that and then they’ll broach what the next treatment is.”

    Burkholder said doctors did not think the cancer had spread to Johnson’s brain or spinal fluid, but that there is concern about where the cancer has spread.

    “I think the whole situation with the melanoma spreading through his back is a concern for the doctors -- so they’re going to continue to study him and treat the back right now,” Burkholder said.

    Burkholder said Johnson initially complained of back pain earlier this month and was sent for an MRI examination after the Eagles’ Jan. 11 playoff game against the New York Giants.

    “The MRI looked funny,” Burkholder said. “We thought he was going to have a disc problem, because he had those symptoms, but it actually looked like there was a tumor besides the stress fracture in his spine. The MRI alerted our doctors that something else might be going on. They did further testing; they did a bunch of scans and had him see some other doctors and it looked like the melanoma was back.”

    Johnson, for the first time during his Eagles career, coached from the press box in the Eagles’ playoff win against the New York Giants, then again in the NFC championship loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles reported that Johnson had back pain and the 67-year-old coach needed the assistance of a cane.

    Burkholder, who was on his way to Hawaii to take part in the Pro Bowl, said the Eagles weren’t positive about Johnson’s diagnosis until Monday. Johnson is the only Eagles coach who did not make the trip to Hawaii to coach the NFC squad.

    Coach Andy Reid declined to comment, but did tell his assistant coaches about Johnson’s cancer this week.

    “We didn’t know definitely until after the Arizona game,” Burkholder said. “We just got all the final stuff this week. We had some ideas and suspicions going into the Arizona game.”

    Reid told quarterback Donovan McNabb about Johnson’s illness earlier today.

    “It’s tough to hear something about a guy like that,” McNabb said before going on ESPN SportsCenter early this evening. “He’s a great guy and he cares about people. He’s willing to do whatever for anyone. To see him go through this is tough, but we’re all behind him and we’ll provide support for him and continue to pray for him. He’ll go through his treatments and do what he has to do. He’s a fighter.”

    Burkholder said he has not spoken to Johnson, but he said Reid indicated that the veteran NFL coach and Eagles team internist Dr. Gary Dorshimer and team physician Peter DeLuca had an optimistic outlook.

    “Dr. Dorsheimer and that whole team of doctors over at Pennsylvania Hospital are very optimistic,” Burkholder said. “Jim’s very upbeat about it and Vicky, his wife, is upbeat about it. Nobody has given me a number -- you’ve got this much time -- or anything like that. It has all been positive in terms of treating this cancer.”

  2. #2
    Recurrent melanoma = very bad. While the football side of this story pales in comparison to the human side, it also sucks that football will be probably be losing one its best defensive minds.

  3. #3
    How can you have skin cancer on your spine?

    The world of medicine is changing so fast. 10 years ago he probably would have had no chance. Today?

    Good luck Jim.

  4. #4
    It began on the skin and then metastasized. Melanoma can be treated effectively if it's caught early or even if it has spread locally. But when it spreads to distant organs it's usually very hard to treat.

  5. #5
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.

  6. #6
    Stout Rat HOFer Guiness's Avatar
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    They could just remove his spine, and put his head in a jar!





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    El Jardinero Rat HOFer MadtownPacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GrnBay007
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.
    Thats correct 007. My Aunt passed away in Dec after a long fight with it. Docs made it sound like once it gets to your spine you are done.

  8. #8
    Stout Rat HOFer Guiness's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MadtownPacker
    Quote Originally Posted by GrnBay007
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.
    Thats correct 007. My Aunt passed away in Dec after a long fight with it. Docs made it sound like once it gets to your spine you are done.
    That's pretty much bone cancer in general, isn't it?

    I've known a couple of people, and heard of others that died shortly after being diagnosed, and I don't think I've heard of anyone surviving it. Seems like it doesn't cause any significant pain while it's progressing, and by the time it's discovered (usually by accident) it's too late.

    One fellow I knew was about 65...big, healthy guy who I think still played softball...he slipped and fell getting into the bathtub, and broke his arm. Went to the hospital and they discovered he had bone cancer.
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  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Guiness
    Quote Originally Posted by MadtownPacker
    Quote Originally Posted by GrnBay007
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.
    Thats correct 007. My Aunt passed away in Dec after a long fight with it. Docs made it sound like once it gets to your spine you are done.
    That's pretty much bone cancer in general, isn't it?

    I've known a couple of people, and heard of others that died shortly after being diagnosed, and I don't think I've heard of anyone surviving it. Seems like it doesn't cause any significant pain while it's progressing, and by the time it's discovered (usually by accident) it's too late.

    One fellow I knew was about 65...big, healthy guy who I think still played softball...he slipped and fell getting into the bathtub, and broke his arm. Went to the hospital and they discovered he had bone cancer.
    Slight difference, in that bone cancer is actually cancer of bone cells, this is still skin cancer, but it has spread. It's a bad situation, I hope that the pain can be eased while this goes on, and he can do what he most wants to do in the time he has left.

  10. #10
    U Rat All-Pro BF4MVP's Avatar
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    Sad news

    All the best to him during his fight!

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by MadtownPacker
    Quote Originally Posted by GrnBay007
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.
    Thats correct 007. My Aunt passed away in Dec after a long fight with it. Docs made it sound like once it gets to your spine you are done.

    Sorry to hear about your aunt Mad.

    Yea, Jim Valvano was finished when that happened to him.

    A guy I worked with got diagnosed with a serious form of skin cancer that had spread. He was in his late 20's ( I think) and in great shape. They gave him about a 20% chance to live. I'll be damned if he didn;t beat it. Came back to work but has since moved on to a new job. A very very nice guy and I wish him the best.

    This is some really nasty shit.

  12. #12
    Neo Rat HOFer Fritz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Guiness
    Quote Originally Posted by MadtownPacker
    Quote Originally Posted by GrnBay007
    Extremely painful with a tumor on the spine. I think the radiation in that case is only to shrink the tumor to alleviate pain. At least that was the case with my brother when his cancer spread to his spine. Hope he and his family find peace and comfort during this fight.
    Thats correct 007. My Aunt passed away in Dec after a long fight with it. Docs made it sound like once it gets to your spine you are done.
    That's pretty much bone cancer in general, isn't it?

    I've known a couple of people, and heard of others that died shortly after being diagnosed, and I don't think I've heard of anyone surviving it. Seems like it doesn't cause any significant pain while it's progressing, and by the time it's discovered (usually by accident) it's too late.

    One fellow I knew was about 65...big, healthy guy who I think still played softball...he slipped and fell getting into the bathtub, and broke his arm. Went to the hospital and they discovered he had bone cancer.
    Something similar happened to a favorite comedian of mine from days past - a guy named Dennis Wolfberg. He slipped in a hotel bath tub, broke his hip - and ta-da! - cancer. I saw him in concert a few months or so before he died. What a great guy. And so funny.

    And by the way, since I am a cancer survivor, I believe I get to say this:

    Does this mean that Johnson's become a cancer on the team??

  13. #13
    Poser Rat HOFer SnakeLH2006's Avatar
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    It's true and sad, as I've had a few family members succumb to this terrible illness of cancer, and it is sad indeed. From what I know, once cancer reaches your core (internal organs, nervous system ((spine)) it is almost impossible to treat) so I wish him the best. Human values come forth, but medicine (my brother's a doctor) is still a long ways away from curing this scourge on the human genome. Best of luck JJ!
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  14. #14
    Indenial Rat HOFer bobblehead's Avatar
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    Snake, I've been hit pretty close to home several times as well, and even though I'm no doctor, I would argue we are much closer than you say. The fringes of medicine where the real radical research is being done (crosses into machine science and nanotechnology) is making huge strides and its a self fulfilling advancement of sorts. I'm optimistic that within 20 years we will wipeout disease and even aging itself. Just stop and think of what your computer looked like in 1989...oops, probably didn't have one.
    I don't hold Grudges. It's counterproductive.

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