Former NBA center Jason Collins is receiving care for Stage 4 glioblastoma, three months after his family disclosed that doctors had found a brain tumor. The 47-year-old told ESPN he faces an average life expectancy of 11 to 14 months.
Collins, who spent 13 seasons with six franchises and became the league’s first openly gay active player, said his tumor cannot be surgically removed. He is following the standard medical protocol but has added a specialized therapy overseas.
“Currently I’m receiving treatment at a clinic in Singapore that offers targeted chemotherapy using EDVs,” Collins explained. The experimental approach, likened to a Trojan horse, is designed to carry medication through the blood-brain barrier and deliver it directly to proteins found only in glioblastoma cells.
He plans to combine that therapy with radiation, traditional chemotherapy and a personalized immunotherapy that is still being developed. “The goal is to keep fighting the progress of the tumors long enough for a personalized immunotherapy to be made for me,” Collins said, adding that he intends to stay healthy enough to receive it once available.
Symptoms first appeared in August, when Collins and his husband, film producer Brunson Green, missed a flight to the U.S. Open because Collins could not concentrate long enough to pack. A CT scan at UCLA soon revealed the brain abnormality, and his short-term memory deteriorated rapidly.
“According to my family, in hours, my mental clarity disappeared, turning into an NBA player’s version of Dory from Finding Nemo,” he recalled. At one point, relatives and friends visited the hospital to say their goodbyes while doctors questioned whether he would emerge from the fog.
By mid-October, Collins had begun short neighborhood walks and was allowed to use his phone again. “Apparently I was sending very weird text messages and watching mindless TikToks for hours while I was out of it,” he said.
Collins last appeared in an NBA game in 2014, finishing his career with the Brooklyn Nets.
Source: Hoops Wire
