Bret 'The Hitman' Hart says he's fighting prostate cancer

ESPN logo
Monday, February 1, 2016

Former professional wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart revealed Monday that he's fighting prostate cancer.

"I've had a great lifelong dance and I'm a survivor of many hard battles," the 58-year-old Hart said in an Instagram post. "I now face my toughest battle. With hesitation and fear, I openly declare myself in my fight against prostate cancer."

The WWE Hall of Famer, who suffered a stroke in 2002, said he'll undergo surgery in the next few days.

"I make a solemn vow to all of those that once believed in me, the dead and the living, that I will wage my fearsome fight against cancer with one shield and one sword carrying my determination and my fury for life, emboldened by all the love that's kept me going this long already," Hart wrote.

Hart won the world heavyweight championship on five occasions in the WWF and twice with WCW. In addition, he won the WWE U.S. heavyweight title five times.

Hart, who retired after suffering a concussion in 1999, is a member of the famed wrestling Hart family from Canada. His father, Stu Hart, wrestled professionally before gaining acclaim as a trainer. Brother Owen Hart wrestled professionally until he died in 1999 after falling from an apparatus as he was being lowered into the ring from the ceiling of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.