Jason Collins has an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer that is well beyond the brain tumor the NBA and Collins’ family had previously announced.
That’s one of the big takeaways from an interview NBA legend Jason Collins gave — and that was just released — with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
The other big takeaway: Jason Collins is a fighter, and he’s not backing down from this fight.
In the ESPN article, Collins reveals he has Stage 4 glioblastoma. According to the Glioblastoma Foundation, the cancer is “is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, and many refer to it as the ’emperor of all cancers.'” That’s because it is so difficult to treat and highly invasive.
Collins reveals in the piece that he has traveled to Singapore for an experimental treatment that delivers chemotherapy directly to the cancer. This would allow for stronger chemicals to be use — If it penetrates the cancer but does not affect most or all of the rest of the patient’s body.
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Collins said he has looked to the experimental treatment because the “standard of care” in the United States looked like 13 months to live. Without treatment, he would pass away “within six weeks to three months.”
And he does not want to die.
“I’m unafraid to break through a wall, or try to do everything possible,” Collins said, “I think because I’m so surrounded by love and I know that my family is so strong and they will be OK.”
Since the diagnosis, Collins has been living his life openly on social media, spending time with family and now traveling to Singapore for the treatment. He recently shared the more-private birthday celebrations for himself and his husband, Brunson Green.
“After I came out, someone I really respect told me that my choice to live openly could help someone who I might never meet,” Collins said to ESPN. “I’ve held onto that for years. And if I can do that again now, then that matters.”
Describing the early days before he was diagnosed, Collins said he “would sit in a room and not realize how long I’d been there.” He added that his brother, Jarron, wondered to their mother if he had had a stroke.
Collins came out as gay while still playing in the NBA in 2013. He was the first player in the league to come out while active, playing the following year for the Brooklyn Nets and helping the team win a first-round matchup in the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
Outsports sends much love to Jason Collins, his husband, Brunson Green, and the entire Collins family. Everyone in the LGBTQ community is rooting for this true champion all the way.
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