Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris has announced a heart-wrenching diagnosis of prostate cancer on Thursday morning.
Harris has worked for ESPN since 2003 and has become one of the most recognizable faces on the network since his debut.
The 60-year-old Harris announced his cancer diagnosis alongside fellow sports broadcaster Michael Strahan on ‘Good Morning America’.
‘I’m having surgery on Tuesday. I’ll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover. Then I’m coming back better than ever,’ Harris said.
‘My doctor’s quite optimistic, per my last scan, nothing has spread. So, once we take out the prostate, hopefully that will be it. That’s the goal.’
Harris said his hope in sharing such personal news in a large fashion is to help other men, especially Black males, see the signs of the disease and get checked for it.
SportsCenter’s Jay Harris has announced a heart-wrenching diagnosis of prostate cancer
Harris revealed the diagnosis during an interview with Michael Strahan on Thursday’s GMA
‘Because we don’t talk. I was at a golf trip with some buddies of mine and we were just sitting around talking about things that I probably can’t talk about on television right now. And I mentioned the news to them, I told them what was going on with me. And then the conversation from there was fantastic,’ Harris added.
‘By not talking about them, I hate to be morbid, but we sentenced ourselves to death for not talking. They had no idea until I brought it up.’
Harris also revealed that his dad had the same disease, as well as more distant family members also received a similar diagnosis.
The broadcaster also stated that men should take a cue from women and get regular health check-ups.
Harris’ frequent co-anchor Hannah Storm was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer last year and has been checking in on her on-screen partner throughout the process.
Fellow ESPNer Brian Custer has also been a help after undergoing a similar surgery, Harris said.
Harris also highlighted that September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, wearing a blue tie on ABC’s airwaves to bring awareness.