Former Buffalo Bills star quarterback Jim Kelly won’t need chemotherapy or radiation treatment after his jaw surgery, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, Medical Daily reported that the NFL Hall of Fame alum had undergone surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the jaw — a usually non-terminal form of epidermis cancer. The procedure involved removing a part of his upper jaw. On Wednesday, his doctors told him that no additional chemotherapeutic program would be necessary for the time being.

“I don’t have to go through radiation treatment or chemo, which is blessing. From what I’ve been told, everything that they did in surgery, if I had to do radiation or chemo it would put me way back,” Kelly said after announcing the news to reporters at the 26th annual Jim Kelly Football Camp.

Kelly began experiencing jaw pains last December. When nothing helped, he turned to additional testing. Doctors quickly discovered a small cyst in his nasal cavity, and a second test eventually revealed the cancer.

"I never thought I'd be saying cancer. I never thought the 'C' word would become part of my vocabulary," he said.

The former Pro-Bowler spent 11 seasons playing for the Buffalo Bills before retiring in after the 1996 season, and still holds virtually every career passing record for the team. He led the team to four consecutive conference titles.

The cancer surgery comes at the end of a two-year stretch of various clinical procedures involving back, neck, and hernia surgeries.

“It's very, very sore, but it takes time," he said. "I know when you have knee surgery or shoulder surgery it's sore for a small period of time, and rehab and everything is good and you just take your time. This is just constant pain for now, but it's a small price to pay for where I'll be later on down the road."