Former NBA Reporter Adrian Wojnarowski Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Matt Levine | Dec 5, 2024

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Longtime NBA reported Adrian Wojnarowski has revealed that he has prostate cancer. The former reported revealed this to Sports Illustrated in an exclusive interview.

The veteran reporter stepped away suddenly from his job at ESPN back in Sept., leaving many wondering why. Wojnarowski took the job as the general manager of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball team.

Wojnarowski revealed that he had prostate cancer, thankfully at an early stage.

The longtime reporter broke down his thought process upon hearing the diagnosis from his doctor.

"When you hearcancer, you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,” Woj says. “Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.” He has no symptoms and says the cancer is “pretty limited in scope.” Active surveillance is the current treatment, which translates to quarterly checkups and regular monitoring. He’s been instructed to improve his eating habits, exercise more and get better sleep. Surgery is still a possibility, but for now doctors say the only reason to have it is if he can’t mentally deal with having the cancer inside him."

Wojnarowski insisted that the diagnosis didn't push him out but rather his desire to do something else. If anything, it gave him some clarity into everything.

“I didn’t want to spend one more day of my life waiting on someone’s MRI or hitting an agent at 1 a.m. about an ankle sprain,” he says.

Wojnarowski had one of the biggest jobs in all of sports. He was the go-to person for all things NBA at ESPN and consistently broke the biggest stories.

But in the end, that didn't matter all that much to him anymore.

“It made me remember that the job isn’t everything,” Woj says. “In the end it’s just going to be your family and close friends. And it’s also, like, nobody gives a s---. Nobody remembers [breaking stories] in the end. It’s just vapor.” 

Wojnarowski did what was best for him and his family. Nobody can blame him, even before this news came out.

The hope is that Wojnarowski can beat this diagnosis and it's always good when they catch things early. The veteran is looking forward to the challenge ahead and we wish him the best of luck in fighting this disease.

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