Minnesota Vikings' Kenechi Udeze diagnosed with a form of leukemia

The Vikings' family reacted with surprise and support Tuesday to the news that defensive end Kenechi Udeze has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia.

Defensive tackle Spencer Johnson said he phoned Udeze in his hospital room Monday night and found him to be typically upbeat.

"He said he'll be all right," Johnson said. "It was a blow to him, but he's in good spirits."

Defensive tackle Pat Williams made the same observation, declining further comment out of respect for Udeze.

A first-round draft choice of the Vikings in 2004, Udeze played in all 16 games last season, tying for the team lead and matching his career high with five sacks. He also became a father for the first time on Nov. 28 as he and his wife, Terrica, celebrated the birth of a daughter, Bailey.

Heading into the final season of his Vikings contract, Udeze might be facing an uncertain future, but Johnson said his teammate's attitude is strong.

"He said the support has been great," Johnson said. "A couple people came by and visited him in the hospital. That helped me out. I was shocked when I found out. He said he'll be in the hospital for two months and have to get chemo."

A local oncologist, while stressing that he has no direct knowledge of Udeze's case, provided some general information about leukemia.

Dr. Joe Leach of Park Nicollet Clinic and Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park said there are dozens of different types of leukemia, which he described as cancer of the blood and specifically the bone marrow, where blood is made.

"We generally break them into two broad categories: acute or fast-growing leukemias, and chronic or slow-growing leukemias," Leach said. "Someone like Kenechi Udeze would most likely have acute leukemia just because of his age (24). Chronic leukemias by and large tend to be diseases of older people, so we don't usually see those until people get up in their 40s, 50s and really 60s and above."

Leach described acute leukemia as an "aggressive but curable" disease, requiring intensive chemotherapy treatment and a prolonged hospital stay.

"A month is the absolute minimum, and in general it's one to two months," he said. "If it's an acute leukemia, you're talking about probably four months of treatment."

In a best-case scenario, Leach said, the chemotherapy treatments would eradicate the cancer. If not, depending on the type of cancer, a bone-marrow transplant can be necessary.

As for the chances of Udeze playing football again, and how soon, Leach said although it's impossible to say without knowing the details of his case, Udeze almost certainly won't play this season.

"He'll be out for a year for sure," Leach said. "I can't imagine even someone in tip-top shape coming back sooner than that. Honestly, the coming back to football, as everybody knows, is really not the issue. The issue is whether he's going to survive this. This is a very deadly cancer. If he does - and he definitely does have some things in his favor - I can't imagine he'd be out less than a year. But I wouldn't say it's impossible that he could come back. I think if all went perfectly, he could come back - not this season, but the season after."

Two major factors in Udeze's favor are his age and the fact that he was in excellent physical condition before being stricken with cancer, having just completed his fourth NFL season.
That doesn't guarantee a quick or full recovery, but it obviously doesn't hurt.

"The younger you are, the better your prognosis," Leach said. "If all goes well and he gets in remission with treatment, then, yeah, I don't see any reason he couldn't come back. It's kind of similar to the Lance Armstrong thing. He went through extremely difficult treatment (for testicular cancer), was basically out for a year and came back as good as new. This could be potentially the same kind of thing."

Johnson said he didn't know where Udeze is staying, but KMSP Channel 9 reported that he is at Fairview Southdale Hospital after visiting the Mayo Clinic in Rochester last week.

Vikings coach Brad Childress is out of the office this week, but the team released a statement.
"With reports surfacing about Kenechi Udeze, we respect the privacy of Kenechi," Childress said in that statement. "The thoughts and prayers of the entire Minnesota Vikings organization are with Kenechi and his family."

Johnson said defensive line coach Karl Dunbar broke the news last week to Vikings players in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl, which Johnson attended as a guest of defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who said he hasn't spoken to Udeze and doesn't know any of the details of his condition.

Even with all the support and everything Udeze has going for him, he is in for the fight of his life.
"It's a devastating diagnosis," Leach said. "It is an unbelievably life-altering kind of cancer because it instantly changes your life."

SKOL UDEZE!!!!

The reporters can be reached at dseeholzer@pioneerpress.com and sjensen@pioneerpress.com.

Vikings' prayers go out to Udeze

The defensive end has leukemia, but no one's saying which type he has or the prognosis.
By JUDD ZULGAD and CHRIS MILLER, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: February 12, 2008 - 11:08 PM

A season-ending knee injury, like the one Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze suffered early in the 2005 season, is almost routine for an NFL player.

Leukemia is not. As word spread among Udeze's teammates that he had been diagnosed with the disease, they were shocked.

"It's way beyond football -- it's about life,'' said receiver Bobby Wade. "With that said, there's no doubt in my mind that if anybody can overcome something like that, it would be Kenechi. He's a positive person. Always a stand-up guy."

The exact diagnosis for Udeze, 24, was unclear Tuesday.

The Viking did not specifically address his condition, but coach Brad Childress released a statement that read: "With reports surfacing about Kenechi Udeze's condition, we respect the privacy of Kenechi. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Minnesota Vikings organization are with Kenechi and his family."

Sources said Udeze was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester early last week and is now at a Twin Cities hospital receiving treatment.

Said Udeze's agent, Ethan Lock: "I'm not qualified to say anything about it."

Udeze was married last year; he and his wife, Terrica, had a daughter, Bailey, on Nov. 28.
Leukemia is a disease that affects blood-forming cells. It begins in the bone marrow and is characterized by an abundance of white blood cells in the body.

Several Vikings players were in Hawaii over the weekend for the Pro Bowl. The team had seven players in the game, and several others who attended as guests of players. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was host for a party for the players, who were told of Udeze's situation by defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.

"I was in disbelief," said defensive end Spencer Johnson, a guest of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams. "I called KU and talked to him and his spirits are really up.

"KU's been in the greatest shape. He's been taking care of his body, and for something like this to happen to him is a total shock to us. I don't understand why it happened, but God don't make mistakes -- I told KU that."

Udeze played in all 16 games during the past season, getting 53 tackles and five sacks. The team's first-round choice (20th overall) out of Southern Cal in the 2004 NFL draft has one year remaining on his contract, which will pay him $807,500 next season. Udeze was an All-America as a junior in 2003, when the Trojans won a national title, and declared early for the draft.

"Kenechi's got a big battle on his hands," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "We've been talking with him and we will continue to support him and send our good wishes and prayers his way."

In four seasons with the Vikings, Udeze played in 50 games and has 139 tackles, including 11 sacks. He missed 13 games during the 2005 season after having surgery on his left knee, and returned to start 15 games in 2006, although he did not have a sack that season.

"I can't describe what was going on with no sacks," he said before last season. "All I can say is that will never happen again."

In last season's opening game, against Atlanta, he ended the sackless streak by hauling down Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington on the game's final play. Udeze had a season-high 10 tackles in the Vikings' season finale in Denver.

Linebacker Chad Greenway was stunned when told about Udeze.

"There's a very big concern," said Greenway. "He's our brother and we wouldn't want anything like that to happen to anyone in our family. We're very shocked. This is something nobody anticipates, especially at 24 years of age.

"We just want to show him as much support as we can."

Wade found out about Udeze's condition late last week while in the Twin Cities for arthroscopic knee surgery.

"As shocking as this is for him, it definitely opens the eyes of every other player as well," Wade said. "Things can jump on you in a week's notice. ... I just want to be as positive as possible, because that's what you need. I'm just praying for him."

SKOL UDEZE!!!!

Reports: Vikings' Udeze has leukemia

Kenechi Udeze of the Vikings has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia, KSTP (Ch. 5) reported Monday night.

The station did not reveal the source for its story on its website. It said that Udeze's doctors are trying to determine what grade of leukemia he is dealing with and that it could take several weeks.

KMSP (Ch. 9) also reported the news, saying Udeze is at Fairview Southdale Hospital undergoing tests and that he was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester last week.

Vikings officials did not return phone calls from the Star Tribune, nor did Ethan Lock, Udeze's agent.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood that starts in the bone marrow.

Good Luck to Kenechi Udeze!!!!