Turin, 12 December (LaPresse) – Jason Collins has stated that he is suffering from ‘one of the most lethal forms of brain cancer’. The former NBA player, who had already revealed in a brief statement in September that he was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, has now revealed in an interview with ESPN that he has stage IV glioblastoma. ‘It came on incredibly fast,’ said the 47-year-old, describing the early symptoms of memory loss and inability to concentrate that reached a critical point in August. “I had strange symptoms for a week or two, but unless there’s something really wrong, I’ll keep going. I’m an athlete,‘ Collins said. The player was also the protagonist of a great victory in civil terms: in 2013, he was the first professional athlete in one of the four major American sports leagues to come out, a choice supported by the entire NBA world. A recent CT scan revealed the extent and severity of his illness, which he described as a ’multiform” glioblastoma that is growing very rapidly. Collins said he has begun drug treatment followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with the support of his husband, Brunson Green, and other friends and family, and that his decision to undergo innovative treatment, currently at a clinic in Singapore, reminded him of his coming out. ‘I feel like I’m in that position again now, where I could be the first person to break through this wall,’ he said. ‘We’re not going to stand by and let this cancer kill me without fighting it with everything we’ve got. We’re going to try to hit it first, in ways it’s never been hit before: with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which are still being studied but offer the most promising frontier in cancer treatment for this type of tumour,’ Collins added.
NBA, former player Jason Collins: “I have terminal brain cancer.”
Turin, 12 December (LaPresse) – Jason Collins has stated that he is suffering from ‘one of the most lethal forms of brain cancer’. The former NBA player, who had already revealed in a brief statement in September that he was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, has now revealed in an interview with ESPN that he has stage IV glioblastoma. ‘It came on incredibly fast,’ said the 47-year-old, describing the early symptoms of memory loss and inability to concentrate that reached a critical point in August. “I had strange symptoms for a week or two, but unless there’s something really wrong, I’ll keep going. I’m an athlete,‘ Collins said. The player was also the protagonist of a great victory in civil terms: in 2013, he was the first professional athlete in one of the four major American sports leagues to come out, a choice supported by the entire NBA world. A recent CT scan revealed the extent and severity of his illness, which he described as a ’multiform” glioblastoma that is growing very rapidly. Collins said he has begun drug treatment followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with the support of his husband, Brunson Green, and other friends and family, and that his decision to undergo innovative treatment, currently at a clinic in Singapore, reminded him of his coming out. ‘I feel like I’m in that position again now, where I could be the first person to break through this wall,’ he said. ‘We’re not going to stand by and let this cancer kill me without fighting it with everything we’ve got. We’re going to try to hit it first, in ways it’s never been hit before: with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which are still being studied but offer the most promising frontier in cancer treatment for this type of tumour,’ Collins added.
