Kareem Abdul Jabbar has rare form of leukemia.
The news that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the basketball legend, has a rare form of blood cancer, is certainly dispiriting for roundball fans everywhere. But many of us who came of age watching the player affectionately known as "The Big Guy" during his playing days will take heart at Abdul-Jabbar's attitude towards having the disease.
A deeply introspective and private man who has generally kept the world at arm's length (and at 7'2" he has very long arms) he has gone public with his diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia to publicize the need for recognition and treatment of the disorder.
According to the Associated Press:
The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn't give any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle."
Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease. He is a paid spokesman for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which makes a drug that treats the illness.
Citing the way Los Angeles Lakers teammate Magic Johnson brought awareness to HIV, Abdul-Jabbar said he wants to do the same for his form of blood cancer, which can be fatal if left untreated.
"I've never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives," he said at a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."
CML, which is also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia appears to be a very rare form of cancer, indeed. Information on the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center website indicates that about 4,570 new cases of the cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. annually. By comparison, in 2007 about 240,510 new cases of breast cancer, both invasive and non-invasive, were diagnosed in the U.S. according to information from the American Cancer Society.
The cancer is caused by genetic mutation known as the Philadelphia chromosome. According to one study, overall five-year survival rate for patients whose initial treatment was with a drug called imatinib was 89 percent. Pharmaceutical maker Novartis makes Gleevec, a proprietary form of imatib.
Here's hoping that The Big Guy wins his battle with cancer.
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