When six time NBA MVP and current special assistant to the World Championship Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar began experiencing hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis, he instantly knew something was wrong. Though his family has a past history of cancer, nothing could prepare him for his diagnosis. After visiting a physician from his alma mater during the late 1960's, UCLA, it was discovered that Kareem's white blood cell count was abnormally high. Without further delay, he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called chronic myeloid leukemia, which affects both the blood and bone marrow by producing cancerous blood cells.
"I was scared," he said. "I thought it was all the same. I thought it could mean I have a month to live. That was my first question.Was I going to make it?"
Fortunately for the 62 year old NBA great, a treatment plan has been put in place involving a strict regimen of oral medication, frequent consultations with his doctor and constant blood monitoring to stay on top of the rare disease. His prognosis? Positive. Little else has changed for Abdul-Jabbar except the need to educate others about the different forms of leukemia that until recently he had been unaware of. The NBA Hall of Famer is bent on posting updates on his condition and experiences living with leukemia on Facebook and Twitter in hopes of "shedding light" on the disease, even going as far as providing links to websites that give details on the condition.
"The fact that you can manage the disease means that you can live your life," Abdul-Jabbar said. "The fact that you have to go and get your blood analyzed and consult with your doctor might be a minor inconvenience, or you have to take your medication every day. But if you do these things, you can lead a normal live."
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