It’s true: Steph Curry wants you to go to the eye doctor. Eight years ago, the basketball superstar was diagnosed with Keratoconus, a progressive eye condition that, in time, can steal a person’s vision. Now, the 38-year old is speaking out about his experience with the hope that it will inspire others to get their vision checked before it’s too late.

Prior to his diagnosis, Curry didn’t even suspect that he had a vision problem. He says the general manager for the Golden State Warriors (the NBA team he plays for) called him out for squinting during a game and recommended that he get his eyes checked. “I went shortly after that to kind of go through the process, thinking that it was gonna be pretty straightforward—like oh, you just need, you know, prescription lenses or something, and maybe other quick fixes,” he says. “That's when I found out about Keratoconus.”

What is Keratoconus?

Simply put, Keratoconus occurs when the cornea thins out, which results in a cone shape rather than a spherical one. A misshapen cornea prevents the retina from processing images correctly so people with Keratoconus may experience blurred vision, glares, halos, eye irritation, sensitivity to light, or poor vision that’s hard to correct, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The condition is rare—only about .04% of the U.S. population seems to be affected—but it worsens with time and research estimates it costs more than $28,000 to treat it over the course of someone’s life. It doesn’t help that Keratoconus is more prevalent among Black and Hispanic populations, two groups of people that research shows are less likely than Caucasians to go to the doctor for a variety of complex reasons.

How is Keratoconus treated?

In its earlier stages, specialized contact lenses can help reshape the cornea. As the disease progresses, other options such as cross-linking treatments that strengthen the cornea (including one called Epioxa which is produced by Glaukos, Curry’s partner in this campaign) or a C-shaped ring that remolds the cornea can be used. As a last resort, a corneal transplant may help restore a person’s vision.

Fortunately, Curry says his eyesight has remained stable with the help of specialized contact lenses, but he gets rechecked every six months to monitor the disease’s progression. He urges other people to get their eyes evaluated now so if there’s something wrong, they can be treated before it’s too late. There’s a “window of time that this disease can show up and that it progresses,” Curry says. “It's important to get ahead of it.”

The mental burden of Keratoconus

For Curry, the diagnosis came out of nowhere and it took time to wrap his brain around it. “It was definitely a shock because one, I had never heard of it,” he says. “It is kind of a bigger word. You're like, wait, that sounds serious. And then the progressive nature of it, because there's unanswered questions, which is why you have to get checked periodically. And they had to be honest and truthful about the worst-case scenario of vision loss.”

Consider this: Curry has made more regular-season three-pointers than any other player in NBA history. To be that good, you need to be able to see where you’re aiming the ball. Then a doctor tells you you could lose your eyesight.

“These are tough conversations to have, but the information was power in that,” Curry recalls. “I will say it took that second or third appointment to kind of really get comfortable with, Okay, this is a part of your new normal. It's just one facet of your life that you're taking care of yourself. And to that point, there are options if things go a certain way. But you wouldn't know if you weren't [in the doctor’s office].”

Curry admits he’s lucky, both in his access to care and that his Keratoconus is stable. “I know there are worse conditions in terms of you know things that people do periodic checks on and all of that, but for your vision, with a sight-threatening condition like this, you're optimistic, you know, for every time you go in, but the anxiety is I know a real deterrent for people even going in to begin with,” says Curry. “But the information is power.”

How Keratoconus changed Curry as a father

On top of being named an NBA All-Star MVP twice, Curry is a parent to four kids with his wife Ayesha. Dealing with Keratoconus, a condition that typically begins during puberty, changed the way he thought of his kids’ vision.

“One, because you know it's their life and their health,” he says. “Two, with any like vision-correcting situation, I can only imagine how it would affect, you know, their ability to perform in school.” Whether it’s their ability to see the board, pay attention in class, or learn to read, eye problems can affect nearly all aspects of a child’s development, he points out.

In an effort to to educate families and make going to the eye doctor less scary for kids, Curry authored a new picture book, Eye on the Ball, which will be donated to schools, eye care practices, and libraries across the country. (He already has two children’s books available for purchase, I Am Extraordinary and I Have a Superpower.)

“[Getting their eyes checked] should be part of your checklist of things to take care of your family,” emphasizes Curry. “Kids are resilient. They figure out a way to get stuff done, and you might not know that they're having vision problems just because they're superstars at just figuring things out.”

What Steph Curry wants you to learn from his experience

“Thankfully, my case has been mild and hasn't progressed crazy since I found out about it,” says Curry. “But it's now an opportunity to kind of share that story to hopefully everybody to encourage a lot of people to go get you know their regular eye exams, talk to their medical professionals about their vision if they if they feel like anything's off, or you know—somebody in their life tells them they squint too much.”