Skip navigation
Listen now:
NBC Sports: The Anita Marks Show

Kareem confronting ‘scary’ cancer head on

NBA legend doing his best to fight disease, raise awareness, money

Mike Celizic
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke for all of us when he told ESPN of his reaction to learning he has cancer.

“It was scary,” he said. “That’s the only word you can use when you hear that that word applies to you.”

Abdul-Jabbar is no wuss. He’s a tough guy and a martial arts devotee who knows about facing down whatever life throws at you without flinching. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he greeted the news with courage.

Nor is it surprising that most of us received the news with shock and concern. We care about this man who performed with such greatness for so many years and has lived with such dignity. We don’t want anyone to get cancer, and we particularly don’t want our heroes to get it.

And so, for a brief moment, we were forcibly made aware again of this heartless disease that doesn’t care if you have more courage than Leonidas or less courage than a neurotic bunny. For a moment, we realized that if this disease can attack one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, it can attack us.

Don’t be lulled by what you read next, that Abdul-Jabbar’s brand of cancer — chronic myeloid leukemia — is one that can be managed. He said his doctor told him, "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle.”

That sounds terrific, and if you’re the one with cancer, believe me, it’s the best thing you can hear. But notice that the doctor didn’t offer any guarantees. He said “a very good chance” of a long and normal life, which means there is also a very bad chance of short and abnormal one.

Slideshow
Los Angeles Lakers
  A Laker legend
Take a look at some of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career highlights.

NBCSports.com

Abdul-Jabbar said he revealed that he has cancer to help raise awareness and money to combat the disease. Mission accomplished on the first front. On the second, keep sending those donations to cancer research, folks. There’s still far too much we don’t know about this killer.

Cancer is a nasty, nasty disease, unlike anything else that can come out of nowhere and knock down anybody without regard for ethnic origin, religious beliefs, gender or sexual orientation. We know some things that can cause it, but many cancers have no explanation. You’re cruising along in life, doing everything right, then one day you realize you’ve been feeling puckish for a while or you have a rash that won’t go away. The next thing you know, someone in a white coat is telling you that you have cancer.

Abdul-Jabbar is lucky in that he doesn’t have pancreatic or brain cancer, but no one who gets cancer is lucky. Even if you are “cured,” you lose something. And being cured is a relative thing, because you’re never really cured of this thing. It can always come back.


advertisement
More news
Image: Mike Conley, Tony Parker
AP
Battle for the West begins

PBT: Between Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph versus that of Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter, the Spurs-Grizzlies Western Conference finals series promises to be a battle of the bigs. But don't forget about that point guard matchup.

Getty Images
PBT: Pacers beat NY, punch ticket to Miami

PBT: Lance Stephenson led Indiana with 25 points in a win that eliminated his hometown team. Stephenson and the Pacers will face the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

Video
  Abdul-Jabbar battles rare form of leukemia
Nov. 10: NBA Hall of Fame basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells msnbc's Dr. Nancy Snyderman that he is being treated for a rare form of leukemia.
Slideshow
Denver Nuggets v Golden State Warriors - Game Three
  Get your NBA cheer on
Check out some of the dancers from the NBA.

more photos

Special feature
Image: Rajon Rondo
Boost or bust? Young season offers insight
Winderman: Don’t let the 82-game schedule fool you — opening weeks of season set the tone.

NBCSports.com

Special feature
Image: Kevin Durant
Fan ranker: Who will be MVP of the NBA?
Visit each week during the regular season to rank the candidates.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
NBA Finals Game 5:  Los Angeles Lakers v Orlando Magic
  Top 100 active NBA players
A look at the top players around the league.

NBCSports.com

Kansas City Royals v Boston Red Sox
Getty Images
The Week in Sports Pictures

The nation grieved for those hurt, killed and affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. After one of the suspects was caught on Friday — following a day-long lockdown and manhunt — sports returned to Boston over the weekend.