Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has leukemia. Abdul-Jabbar, a former basketball player, has chronic myeloid leukemia. Abdul-Jabbar, 62, said he was first diagnosed with the rare form of leukemia last December in 2008.

Abdul-Jabbar takes oral medication to combat his leukemia. His doctor told him that he could live out his life fully without making big changes. Abdul-Jabbar said he was going public with his illness to bring awareness to the condition. Abdul-Jabbar wants to try help people who may have the same type of leukemia.

Abdul-Jabbar is a spokesman for Novartis, a pharmaceutical company. Novartis is a drug maker that manufactures drugs for has chronic myeloid leukemia.

Article was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 7:59 am under Gossip.