Legendary Swedish tennis player Björn Borg shared in his upcoming memoir, Heartbeats, that he was diagnosed with an “extremely aggressive” prostate cancer and is now in remission after an operation, according to The Associated Press (AP).

 

“I have nothing right now. But every six months, I have to go and check myself. The whole process—it’s not a fun thing,” said Borg, 69, in a video interview with the AP from his home in Stockholm. “But I’m OK. I’m fine. And I’m feeling very good.”

 

Borg, who has long kept his personal life private, wrote the upcoming memoir with his wife, Patricia, over two years.

 

“I went through some difficult times, but [it’s] a relief for me to do this book,” Borg said. “I feel so much better.”

 

Borg said he had been getting tested for prostate cancer “for many, many years.” In September 2023, doctors found something that required follow-up, according to ESPN. Additional tests confirmed he had prostate cancer.

 

He described waiting for a February 24 surgery for the cancer as “psychologically… very difficult, because who knows what’s going to happen?”

 

Located below the bladder, the prostate is a male sex gland about the size of a walnut or small lemon. Among other functions, it produces liquid in semen for sperm.

 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men besides skin cancer, and one in eight men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. About 313,780 men in the United States will develop prostate cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. But because it usually progresses slowly, the death rate is relatively low at around 35,770 per year. (See Cancer Health’s Basics on Prostate Cancer.)

 

Treatment for prostate cancer depends on how advanced the cancer is when it is detected, including how large it is and whether it has spread, or metastasized, to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Treatment can include immunotherapy, radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. Surgery that removes the entire prostate gland is known as radical prostatectomy.

 

Borg said his most recent tests from August came back clean.

 

By the time he retired from tennis at age 26, Borg had won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, including six French Open titles and five consecutive titles at Wimbledon. He won 66 singles titles during his relatively short career and was the Association of Tennis Professionals’ Player of the Year from 1976 to 1980.

 

In his memoir, Borg writes: “Now I have a new opponent in cancer—one I can’t control. But I’m going to beat it. I’m not giving up. I fight like every day is a Wimbledon final. And those usually go pretty well, don’t they?”

 

September marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Take a little time to educate yourself about screening, prevention, diagnosis and treatment options. Click #Prostate Cancer to read more. There, you’ll see headlines such as “How to Get More Men Screened for Prostate Cancer,” “Do You Have Scanxiety?” and “‘SportsCenter’ Anchor Jay Harris Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer.”