ESPN anchor Jay Harris reveals he has prostate cancer

Veteran ESPN "sportsCenter" anchor Jay Harris revealed he will be undergoing surgery after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Harris, 60, wrote in an essay on ESPN Front Row on Thursdat that he was diagnosed “over a month ago.”

“It’s jarring news for sure, yet unfortunately, it’s not unexpected, given my family history and demographic,” Harris wrote. “Prostate cancer disproportionately affects Black men. My dad had a bout with prostate cancer, which he won.

My age is sixty.  It’s something I’ve always been cognizant of, and my doctor and I talk about it every annual visit,” he continued. “And I’m sharing it all with my 26-year-old son. Maybe I’m oversharing at times — lol — but he needs to know.”

"My doctor is quite optimistic," Harris said of his prognosis. "Per my last scan, nothing has spread, so once we, you know, take out the prostate, hopefully that will be it. That's the goal."

He hopes to return to work “in a month or so” depending on what is found during the surgery.

The American Cancer Society estimates that the second-leading cause of mortality from cancer among American men is cancer of the prostate, which will be detected about 1 in 8 men. About 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in men who are 65 and older, and Black men are at a higher risk, per the ACS.

The five-year relative survival rate for multiple types of prostate cancer is greater than 99%, according to the ACS.

Prostate cancer can be screened for with a blood test called Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA). The goal of screening is to catch cancer before symptoms present and can be done during medical check-ups.

After a high PSA is detected, a doctor may call for a biopsy.