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Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US professional sports league, said on Thursday in an ESPN interview that he had stage 4 glioblastoma and was pursuing innovative treatment in a clinic in Singapore, where he got approval \u201cwithin 48 hours\u201d.<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old, who played 13 seasons in the NBA for six teams, told ESPN that the cancer \u201ccame on incredibly fast\u201d and that he could die within weeks. Due to the tumour\u2019s genetic makeup, the standard chemotherapy treatment for glioblastoma did not work on his tumour, he said.<\/p>\n
The experimental treatment involves a targeted intervention using Australian biopharma company EnGeneIC\u2019s EDV (EnGeneIC Dream Vector) which according to Collins \u201cacts as a Trojan horse, seeking out proteins only found in glioblastomas to deliver its toxic payload past the blood-brain barrier and straight into [his] tumours\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hi-tech, science fiction type stuff, but we\u2019re in the city of the future,\u201d said Collins in an ESPN video from a car in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Those involved in the EDV process noted that the clinical trial had not begun and was only available on compassionate grounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n