Former NBA Player Jason Collins Reveals He Has Brain Cancer, Says It Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

Former NBA Player Jason Collins Reveals He Has Brain Cancer, Says It Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

Jason Collins — the former NBA center who made history as the league’s first openly gay active player — has revealed he is battling Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that doctors say cannot be removed by surgery. In a personal essay, Collins said the diagnosis “came on incredibly fast” and that the tumor’s size, spread and location make it inoperable.

Collins, 47, shared that the news came just months after he married film producer Brunson Green in what he called a “perfect” ceremony. Soon after, he began experiencing alarming symptoms, including difficulty focusing and sudden memory issues. A CT scan at UCLA was stopped within minutes, and he was rushed to specialists as his cognitive function deteriorated throughout the day.

Doctors ultimately diagnosed a butterfly-shaped Stage 4 glioblastoma that had already crossed into both hemispheres of his brain. Collins said the tumor grows with tentacle-like extensions and contains multiple mutations, making it “wild type” and especially challenging to treat. Because removing it would permanently affect his personality and brain function, surgeons ruled out an operation entirely.

Collins has begun an aggressive treatment plan, including Avastin, radiation and a targeted chemotherapy regimen he is receiving in Singapore that is designed to reach cancer cells past the blood–brain barrier. The goal is to slow the tumor enough to eventually create a personalized immunotherapy. He acknowledged that the standard prognosis for his condition is limited but said he is focusing on options that could also help future patients.

Despite the gravity of the diagnosis, Collins said he’s approaching the fight with the mindset that carried him through the NBA. “We aren’t going to sit back and let this cancer kill me without giving it a hell of a fight,” he wrote, crediting his husband, his twin brother Jarron, and his medical team for keeping him focused on the battle ahead.