ESPN star Jay Harris announces private health battle with prostate cancer and TV absence ahead of surgery

ESPN star anchor Jay Harris announced the news of his recent cancer diagnosis.

The news was revealed on the morning television program Good Morning America on Thursday.

3

ESPN anchor Jay Harris, right, revealed his private health battle on ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday

3

Harris has been working for ESPN since 2003Credit: ESPN
GMA star Michael Strahan interviewed the longtime ESPN anchor Harris, who revealed that he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Harris said that he will be undergoing surgery next week and will need some time away from his SportsCenter duties before returning.

“I’m having surgery on Tuesday,” Harris said.

“I’ll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover.

“Then I’m coming back better than ever.”

Harris also shared that the doctors were “optimistic” over his last scan and that “once we take out the prostate, hopefully that will be it.”

Fans reacted to Harris’s cancer diagnosis and wished the SportsCenter star the best on social media.

“All the best to you Jay,” one wrote.

ESPN legend John Brenkus’ tragic cause of death aged 54 announced as family make desperate plea
“Wishing him a smooth recovery,” another commented.

“Prayers up Jay! You got this,” a third said.

“Wishing you a smooth surgery and a strong recovery, bruda! Respect for sharing it publicly — more men need to get screened,” a fourth stated.

During the interview, Harris revealed that his dad had prostate cancer and that he recently found out that other family members also received a similar diagnosis.

Harris said his personal health announcement is to help men, especially Black males, see the signs of the disease and get checked for it.

One in four black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime.

“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,” Harris added.

3

Harris speaking during the ESPYS awards in 2015Credit: Getty
“And I mentioned the news to them, I told them what was going on with me.

“And then the conversation from there was fantastic.

“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.”

What are the symptoms every man needs to know?

In most cases, prostate cancer doesn’t have any symptoms until the growth is big enough to put pressure on the urethra – that tube you pee through.

Symptoms include:

Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
Needing to rush to the toilet
Difficulty in starting to pee
Weak flow
Straining and taking a long time while peeing
Feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied fully

Many men’s prostates get larger as they age because of the non-cancerous conditions, prostate enlargement, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

In fact, these two conditions are more common than prostate cancer – but that doesn’t mean the symptoms should be ignored.

The signs that cancer has SPREAD include bone, back, or testicular pain, loss of appetite, and unexplained weight loss.

Harris has been with ESPN since February 2003 as an ESPNEWS anchor.

During that year, he anchored his first SportsCenter program and hasn’t looked back since.