Former Brooklyn Nets player Jason Collins is suffering from Stage 4 glioblastoma. It is one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. Collins, who married the love of his life and started a new chapter in May, recently updated ESPN after his family released a short statement saying he had a brain tumor earlier this year. As he prepares to fight the illness, he finds solace from one unexpected source: former opponent Shaquille O’Neal.

“As an athlete, you learn not to panic in moments like this,” Collins told Ramona Shelburne. “These are the cards I’ve been dealt. To me, it’s like, ‘Shut up and go play against Shaq.’ You want the challenge? This is the challenge. And there is no bigger challenge in basketball than going up against prime Shaquille O’Neal, and I’ve done that.”

The significance of his words hangs heavy, especially considering the opponent he’s fighting now isn’t someone on the court, but rather an internal monster. Glioblastoma is a kind of cancer, a fast-growing brain tumor that rapidly invades healthy brain tissue.

Collins and O’Neal‘s relationship on the court stretches back to his rookie year in 2002, when he was a reserve on the New Jersey Nets. The two faced off in the NBA Finals at the peak of O’Neal’s powers.

Collins wasn’t the only frontcourt player on the team tasked with guarding the then-Los Angeles Lakers superstar, but he knew that he couldn’t contain the big man alone.

It’s that experience that matters. Knowing what it’s like to go up against an opponent who’s bigger, stronger, and seemingly unbeatable only strengthens his resolve.

That’s why the O’Neal metaphor matters: Collins has lived through one nightmare and survived it.

Collins explained that the symptoms were mild at first. Starting in August, he experienced bouts of confusion, memory lapses, and lost track of tasks. He explained his attempts to push through it, relying on his hardy nature as an athlete. But the situation got worse, and they had to get a few tests done.

Later, CT scans revealed an aggressive and infiltrative mass stretching across parts of his brain like a “monster with tentacles.” Surgery had to be ruled out due to this, but Collins has processed it with the same steady focus he once relied on against bludgeoning centers during his playing days in the NBA.

How Jason Collins is Moving Forward With Treatment Against Cancer

Jason Collins revealed that he had started medication and chemotherapy with the support of his husband, Brunson Green, as well as family and loved ones. The former player is currently pursuing “targeted chemotherapy – using EDVs” in Singapore.

“Due to my tumor’s genetic makeup, the standard temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy for glioblastoma doesn’t work on it,” Collins explained to ESPN. “Because my tumor is unresectable, going solely with the ‘standard of care’ – radiation and TMZ – the average prognosis is only 11 to 14 months.”

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The former Nets center, however, isn’t shaken. Collins explained that, given he likely has about a year (11 to 14 months) left, he’s willing to dedicate it to the treatment he believes “might one day be a new standard of care.”

Collins remembered his grandmother, who had also been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in her stomach, recalling that she didn’t like to hear people say ‘cancer’ around her. He makes a declaration, and we hope it gives Collins strength in his time of need:

“I don’t care if you say the word. I have cancer, but just like my grandmother fought it, I’m going to fight it.”