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Kareem Abdul Jabbar has rare form of leukemia
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Kareem Abdul Jabbar is struggling with a new kind of opponent.
According to the Associated Press - Basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and he said his prognosis is encouraging.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia, he told The Associated Press on Monday. 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."
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is one of the four main types of leukemia. Leukemia is a type of cancer. CML starts with a change to a single stem cell. Both children and adults can get CML, but most CML patients are adults.
About 5,050 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in 2009. It is estimated that approximately 22,475 people in the United States are living with CML (SEER, National Cancer Institute, 2009). Three new CML drugs (Gleevec®, Sprycel® and Tasinga®) have been approved since 2001. Other new treatments are being studied in clinical trials. Progress toward a cure is under way and the number of people with CML who are living well today is growing.
CML patients have what is called the "Philadelphia Chromosome" (Ph chromosome). Chromosomes are structures in the cells that contain genes. Every cell with a nucleus has chromosomes. Genes give instructions to the cells. The Ph chromosome is made when a piece of chromosome 22 breaks off and attaches to the end of chromosome 9. A piece of chromosome 9 also breaks off and attaches to the end of chromosome 22. The break on chromosome 9 involves a gene called Abl. The break on chromosome 22 involves a gene called Bcr. The Bcr and Abl genes combine to make the CML-causing gene called the Bcr-Abl cancer gene.
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.
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