Wrestling icon Hart reveals cancer fight

WRESTLING LEGEND Bret (The Hitman) Hart revealed on his social media pages Monday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“I’ve had a great lifelong dance and I’m a survivor of many hard battles. I now face my toughest battle. With hesitation and fear, I openly declare myself in my fight against prostate cancer,” Hart, 58, wrote in a post to his followers. “In the next few days, I will undergo surgery with the hope of defeating this nemesis once and for all.”

Hart ranks high on the list of recognizable pro-fecssional wrestlers. Some have dubbed him the greatest wrestler of all time.

With his signature pink-and-black ring attire, leather jacket, flowing locks and shades, the Calgary-born Hart became a household name in pro wrestling after making his debut in 1978, becoming a champion many times over through five decades and headliner of several Wrestlemanias.

“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,” the wrestler wrote.

A few years after he retired from the ring, Hart suffered a stroke in 2002, which left him in a wheelchair for a short amount of time. But he recovered and later returned to the wrestling scene.

“My fans have always looked upon me as a hero and I’ve always done my best to live up to that in and out of the ring,” he wrote.

Hart said his family will be his inspiration throughout the battle with cancer. “My children, grandchildren, and my loving wife Steph have been and will constantly be at my side,” Hart wrote. “I refuse to lose, I will never give in or give up, and I will win this battle or die trying.”

Hart’s announcement stirred an outpouring of support. “I have only love for @BretHart, I pray for his perfect health,” Hulk Hogan tweeted.