Former NBA star diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer at 47 years old – ‘I’m going to fight it’
The cancer is spreading quickly through the star’s brain
A FORMER NBA star has been diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer.
The 13-year NBA veteran is fighting glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.
Jason Collins, a journeyman center in the NBA has Stage 4 glioblastoma.
He was a trailblazer not just in the NBA, but in all of North American sports as the first openly gay player in the NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL.
Collins came out in 2013, and his final year in the league was in the 2013-14 season.
He discovered a brain tumor earlier this year, but didn’t announce the severity of it until Thursday.
Collins told his story through a sit down with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
After feeling symptoms in August, Collins went for a CT scan at UCLA where he quickly learned something wrong.
It only took a few weeks for him to learn that he has a “multiforme” glioblastoma, meaning it is growing through his brain like tentacles.
Collins’ cancer is already in both hemispheres of his brain, but he is “giving it a hell of a fight.”
His treatments include a drug called Avastin, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.
Collins is currently seeking treatment in Singapore and is trying to fight the cancer off for long enough until he can have a personalized immunotherapy made for him.
The prognosis for Collins’ cancer is only 11 to 14 months, but he plans on attacking it for as long as he can to try to break through.
“I have cancer, but just like my grandmother fought it, I’m going to fight it,” he said.
Collins was drafted with the No. 18 pick in the 2001 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.
However, he began his career with the New Jersey Nets, where he spent eight years of his career.
Collins also had stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards.
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