Buddy puts family before cancer surgery
IT'S NOT surprising that Buddy Ryan is preparing for another battle with cancer the same way he coached - with swagger and confidence.
IT'S NOT surprising that Buddy Ryan is preparing for another battle with cancer the same way he coached - with swagger and confidence.
In fact, he's postponing surgery until after Sunday night's Cowboys at Jets prime-time season opener so he can watch his twin sons coach against each other.
"I won't miss Sunday's game. It's about family," Buddy told the New York Daily News.
"It's going to be great having him here," Rex Ryan, the head coach of the Jets, told the Associated Press yesterday. "I know this is huge for him. He's looked forward to it for a long time."
According to Rex, Buddy has cancer of the parotid salivary gland.
Rob Ryan, the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, said his dad found out last week that he had cancer "in his gland that's right through his neck."
The 77-year-old Buddy, who has beaten the "Big C" four times, including bouts with melanoma in 1968 and '80, is characteristically downplaying the latest cancer as "less serious."
However, Buddy did allow that, "whenever you go under anesthesia, you never know what's going to happen."
So, he asked his doctors if he could postpone the operation and go to the game.
"They said to go ahead," said Buddy, who will return to his home in Kentucky the following day. "I've got to be able to do something" while waiting for surgery.
Rob Ryan said he isn't surprised at the way his dad is handling the situation.
"That's just the way he is," Rob said. "This is a big thing for him, a big thing for the Ryans. He's just about the only guy that's beaten cancer about every time. I'm sure the prognosis is great for him because he always wins."
Rob said he and Rex will not find their father's presence a distraction during the game.
"This game's important to him," Rob said. "He wants to see these two rams butt heads. All he taught us is 'Do the job,' That's the way he is, so it's not that difficult. Obviously, [we're] praying a lot for him and things have to go well because that's what it is. But he raised us to do the job."