Jason Collins Reveals Stage 4 Glioblastoma, Details Aggressive Fight Against Deadly Brain Cancer
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LOS ANGELES — Former NBA center Jason Collins has disclosed that he is undergoing treatment for Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive and typically fatal form of brain cancer.
Collins, 46, shared the news publicly after his family issued a brief statement several months ago describing only that he had a brain tumor. “It’s time for people to hear directly from me,” he wrote in a first-person account.
Rapid Onset After May Wedding
The cancer symptoms emerged weeks after Collins married film producer Brunson Green in Austin, Texas, on May 4, 2025. By late August, while preparing for their annual trip to the US Open, Collins struggled to focus enough to pack and missed the flight — an early sign that something was wrong.
A CT scan at UCLA Medical Center quickly revealed a mass. Within hours, Collins lost significant short-term memory and comprehension, according to relatives. A biopsy later confirmed a “multiforme” glioblastoma already spread across both brain hemispheres in a butterfly pattern.
Tumor Profile and Prognosis
Doctors told Collins that the tumor’s growth factor was 30 percent; without intervention, they estimated he could have died within six weeks to three months. The cancer is classified as “wild type,” meaning it carries multiple mutations that make it harder to treat.
Initial Treatments
Collins began receiving Avastin to slow tumor expansion, followed by radiation. He said the therapy helped clear the mental “fog”: he was wheeled to his first radiation session but could walk by the third. In mid-October he resumed short neighborhood walks and regained access to his phone after a period of confusion.
Experimental Approach in Singapore
Because his tumor is unresectable and resistant to the standard temozolomide chemotherapy, Collins traveled to a clinic in Singapore. There he is receiving targeted chemotherapy delivered by extracellular vesicles (EDVs), designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack proteins unique to glioblastoma.
The strategy is to contain tumor growth long enough for doctors to develop a personalized immunotherapy. Collins noted that average life expectancy on standard therapy alone is 11 to 14 months, a timeline he hopes to extend through experimental care.
Athlete’s Mind-Set
Drawing parallels to guarding Shaquille O’Neal in his playing days, Collins said he views the diagnosis as “the challenge.” He is working with Duke University neuro-oncologist Dr. Henry Friedman, who values athletes for their determination.
The former Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics center, who became the NBA’s first openly gay active player in 2013, said financial resources allow him to pursue cutting-edge options worldwide. If those efforts do not save him, he added, “it might help someone else who gets a diagnosis like this one day.”
Collins credited support from his twin brother, Jarron, and memories of his late grandmother — who outlived her own Stage 4 cancer prognosis — for reinforcing his resolve: “No matter what, you have to fight.”
Source: ESPN
