New York Giants icon Michael Strahan used his platform to help Jay Harris share news of his prostate cancer diagnosis.
Former New York Giants edge rusher Michael Strahan is intimately familiar with cancer. His daughter, Isabella, fought and beat a brain tumor, putting Strahan’s life in perspective and forcing him to come face-to-face with the illness.
Perhaps that made him the right host to share someone else’s cancer story.
On Thursday, the Giants legend helped ESPN’s Jay Harris make his sad announcement, putting an optimistic spin on his prostate cancer diagnosis.
“I’m having surgery on Tuesday,” he said. “I’ll be away from ‘SportsCenter’ for about a month to recover. Then I’m coming back better than ever.”
Harris is best known for his work on “SportsCenter,” although he has appeared on several shows on the sports network.
Speaking on “Good Morning America,” Harris elaborated on his experience and how he broke the news to those close to him.
"We don't talk. I was on 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 said. “And I mentioned the news to them. I told them what was going on with me and the conversation from there was fantastic.
"We talked about doctor's appointments and ailments and family histories and things that we wouldn't have had a conversation about because I figured I needed to share. We all need to talk about these things because we all have them in our families. By not talking about them, we just, I hate to be morbid, we sentence ourselves to death."
Harris is right to emphasize the importance of talking about cancer. A significant obstacle in treating cancer early, especially prostate cancer, is awareness. In talking about it, the issue becomes more visible. It’s in our families and friend groups, it’s on ESPN and ABC. If Harris speaking to his loved ones, and then a larger audience, about his diagnosis leads to one more person getting tested, it will have been an even greater success.
The ESPN stalwart turned 60 in February.
For now, Harris will hope to keep his spirits high and return to the screen as soon as possible.
“Per my last scan, nothing has spread, so once we take out the prostate, hopefully, that will be it,” he said. “That’s the goal.”
