Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is announcing to the world that he has cancer. He made the announcement Tuesday nearly a year after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.
He made the announcement through a press release saying,
“Having lost one of my closest friends to a different, highly aggressive form of leukemia, I knew how serious my diagnosis was. My own life expectancy became a question mark. I’m telling my story to encourage fellow patients to take charge of their health. Work closely with your doctor, monitor your disease and, above all, take your medicine.”
The 62-year-old father of five is still the NBA’s all time leading scorer and won five championships with the Lakers before his retirement in 1989.
He was diagnosed in December of 2008 and is taking medicine that targets the abnormal proteins that caused the cancer. Luckily, he is expected to live a full and active life.
