NBA legend Alonzo Mourning beats Stage 3 cancer, has prostate removed

Hall of Fame center Alonzo Mourning is cancer free after having his prostate removed in March following a diagnosis of stage 3 cancer.

Mourning, 54, told ESPN on Monday (Tuesday, June 4, Manila time) the cancer did not spread.

“What scares me about this disease is that there are so many men walking around feeling great and have that cancer in them and they don’t know it,” Mourning told ESPN.

“The only way to find out is to get their blood tested and get their PSA (prostate-specific antigen) checked. There are 3.3 million men living in the U.S. with prostate cancer, and many don’t even know it. I was one of those guys.”

Bill Walton and O.J. Simpson both recently died after battles with prostate cancer.

Mourning, director of player program and development for the Miami Heat since retiring in 2008, was a seven-time All-Star, NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist over 15 seasons with the Charlotte Hornets (1992-95), Heat (1995-2002; 2004-08) and New Jersey Nets (2003-04).

He missed the 2002-03 season with kidney disease and underwent a kidney transplant in 2003.

Mourning finished his career with 14,311 points, averaging 17.5 with 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 838 games (686 starts).

The No. 2 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft out of Georgetown and a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. – Rappler.com