Former NBA center Jason Collins has Stage 4 glioblastoma, he revealed Thursday.
In September, the NBA announced Collins was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. On Thursday, however, the 13-year NBA veteran shared more details about his diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
“But now it’s time for people to hear directly from me,” Collins told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “I have Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. It came on incredibly fast.
“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. 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,’ he added.
Glioblastoma is the most common type of cancerous brain tumor in adults, with more than 13,000 Americans diagnosed each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic. There is no cure, but treatments include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and more.
Collins said his symptoms include mental struggles such as short-term memory loss and difficulty with comprehension.
He mentioned one specific instance in August when he and his husband missed a flight after he was unable to stay focused to pack for the trip. He also noted a situation one week earlier where he fell in his home, but “couldn’t figure out how to get myself up, how to put my knee down and balance to push myself up.”
Collins said he was admitted to a hospital at UCLA and underwent a CT scan before doctors recommended he see a specialist. He underwent a biopsy, which revealed he had glioblastoma with a “growth factor of 30%, meaning that within a matter of weeks, if nothing were to be done, the tumor would run out of room and I’d probably be dead within six weeks to three months.”
Collins said he is currently receiving targeted chemotherapy treatment at a clinic in Singapore. He said because his tumor is unresectable, meaning it can’t be removed by surgery, the average prognosis for his diagnosis is 11-14 months.
“If that’s all the time I have left, I’d rather spend it trying a course of treatment that might one day be a new standard of care for everyone,” Collins said. “I’m fortunate to be in a financial position to go wherever in the world I need to go to get treatment. So if what I’m doing doesn’t save me, I feel good thinking that it might help someone else who gets a diagnosis like this one day.”
Despite his daunting prognosis, Collins said he’s determined to fight back against cancer.
“You’re reading this now because I eventually got myself up and figured it out,” he said. “Anyone who knows me knows not to underestimate me on this, either.”
Collins played 13 NBA seasons for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards from 2001-14. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.4 minutes across 735 games, including 477 starts.
In 2013, he became the first openly gay player in any of the four major North American sports league when he came out in a Sports Illustrated article.
Jason’s twin brother, Jarron, also played in the NBA for 10 seasons with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trailblazers from 2001-11.
