PREMIER LEAGUE legend Shaka Hislop revealed he is battling prostate cancer.
Hislop, 56, rose to football stardom following stints with Reading, West Ham, Newcastle and Portsmouth during an impressive 15-year career.
The former goalkeeper crossed over to punditry after his retirement in 2007, primarily for ESPN where he has attracted an even lager audience.
And the former Trinidad and Tobago international updated his fans with a shock medical update as he announced he is dealing with a “fairly aggressive” form of cancer.
The football analyst added that he has undergone seven-and-a-half weeks of medication and radiation therapy.
Hislop said on Instagram: “I have a story to tell. Roughly 18 months ago, I went for my annual physical and insisted on a PSA test, as I always do.
“This time around though my PSA was elevated,” Hislop said in a video posted to his official Instagram account.
“An MRI and biopsy quickly determined that I had a fairly aggressive prostate cancer. A year ago, almost to the day, December 6 to be exact, I had a radical prostatectomy. And I thought that was it.
“But then, six months later, my PSA was again on the rise and another scan showed that my prostate cancer had spread to my pelvic bone.
“I started on medication pretty soon after, and just this morning completed seven-and-a-half weeks of radiation therapy. The journey continues.”
Hislop then urged men everywhere in higher-risk age groups to get checked regularly.
He added: “Doctors recommend that all men over the age of 50 get their PSA checked regularly. If you’re of African descent, that age drops to 40.
“If you’re somewhere like the UK or somewhere else where PSA tests aren’t encouraged, you have got to insist.
“Having a history of cancer in the family doesn’t matter. I had genetic testing done and it showed no traits in my family, yet this year would show that, without going into too much detail, even that didn’t exclude everybody in my immediate family.
“The highest rate of prostate cancer mortality is in Caribbean men, so allow me to speak to my community, my people. Please, go get tested. Know your PSA, track its history.
“Prostate cancer is survivable if caught early enough. There are treatments for it. Testing saves lives. It saved mine.”
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