Jason Collins, the first openly gay active NBA player, announced he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, and is undergoing treatment including radiation and targeted chemotherapy.
Jason Collins, who spent 13 years in the NBA playing for six different teams, announced on Thursday that he has Stage 4 brain cancer. Collins has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Jason Collins
Jason Collins
Position: C
Age: 47
Height: 213 cm
Weight: 116 kg
Birth place: Los Angeles, United States of America
In an open letter published by ESPN, Collins shared the symptoms that led to his diagnosis.
He described struggling with brain fog, difficulty focusing, and a decline in short-term memory. A CT scan at UCLA revealed the brain tumor.
"What makes glioblastoma so dangerous is that it grows within a very finite, contained space -- the skull -- and it's very aggressive and can expand," Collins said. "What makes it so difficult to treat in my case is that it's surrounded by the brain and is encroaching upon the frontal lobe -- which is what makes you, 'you.'"
The NBA had released a statement in September confirming that Collins was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. At the time, Collins said the statement was intentionally vague to respect his family's wish for privacy.
Collins is currently receiving radiation to slow the tumor's growth, along with targeted chemotherapy in Singapore designed for his specific type of cancer.
"The goal is to keep fighting the progress of the tumors long enough for a personalized immunotherapy to be made for me, and to keep me healthy enough to receive that immunotherapy once it's ready," Collins said.
Collins made NBA history as the first active player in the league to come out as openly gay.
"One thing I've always prided myself on is having the right people in my life. When I came out publicly as the first active gay basketball player in 2013, I told a lot of the people closest to me before I did so."
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