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- BigBambino, on 11/10/2009, -0/+21I'm glad that we live in an era where Cancer is no longer a death sentence.
- nahsrocketeer75, on 11/10/2009, -0/+17Sad to hear but heartening that he apparently has a good chance.
- Supawantastic, on 11/10/2009, -0/+14I have CML (35 year-old male, dx'd at 33) and this is for the most part accurate. It he was experiencing the night sweats, hot flashes and appetite problems - he was probably caught in the chronic phase of the disease (the latter being advanced/accelerated and ultimately blast crisis). I am sure the drug he is on is called Gleevec - it is owned by Novartis and was touted as the Magic Bullet on the cover of Time magazine in 2001 when it was fast tracked and ultimately FDA approved. It is under patent until 2016 ( with a novel drug extension until 2018 I believe ).
Assuming Kareem is on the standard dosage of 400mg daily, his bill be will $3,000 per month USD (unless he gets an NBA break). People certainly fail the drug from time to time, but it is really well tolerated by most and this has paved the way for even better drugs using similar technology (Nilotib and Sprycel). Gleevec is still considered the standard of care primarily because it works so well and side effects are often little more than some nauseau and bone pain (think minor shin splints).
Prior to this drug, life span was generally limited to 3 years (save a bone marrow transplant) and I am told it was a pretty miserable existence.
If I wasn't reminded I was sick everyday by taking a pill (or the fact that I am uninsurable...yes, I live in the US) - I'd forget I was sick. - Gr00ver, on 11/10/2009, -0/+12"I'm sorry son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot."
Best of luck Kareem. I hope you get through this. - kthoma22, on 11/10/2009, -0/+10He must have got it from the fish he ate when he was a co-pilot on that faithful flight to Chicago.
- rwbrinso, on 11/10/2009, -0/+9Get better soon Kareem -- and help people along the way please.
- FattyMagee, on 11/10/2009, -0/+9I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.
- saqabb, on 11/10/2009, -0/+7Hmmm, I wonder who the term 'cancer survivors' refers to then.
- energyx, on 11/10/2009, -4/+10if you're poor, it is
- uberchaoslord, on 11/10/2009, -0/+6Hrm my father had Colon Cancer, he had a resectioning and chemo, and now lives normally. Stop being a douche.
- pcyopick, on 11/10/2009, -0/+6This is the same form of leukemia that Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs has. It's one of the easier forms of leukemia to treat, as you stay in a chronic very low level state for sometimes years until it escalates. All the best to Kareem.
- RonADiSH, on 11/10/2009, -0/+6still, there are too many death cases
- T8erT0T, on 11/10/2009, -0/+4"I think you must be mistaken, my name is Roger Murdoch, I'm the co-pilot."
- didntlisten, on 11/10/2009, -0/+3This is no good. Kareem is a great guy...at least he's using the opportunity to raise awareness, and hopefully fight for a cure.
oh, and in honor of KAJ:
Joey: Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Roger Murdock: I'm sorry son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot.
Joey: You are Kareem. I've seen you play. My dad's got season tickets.
Roger Murdock: I think you should go back to your seat now Joey. Right Clarence?
Captain Oveur: Nahhhhhh, he's not bothering anyone, let him stay here.
Roger Murdock: But just remember, my name is
[showing his nametag]
Roger Murdock: ROGER MURDOCK. I'm an airline pilot.
Joey: I think you're the greatest, but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense.
[Kareem's getting mad]
Joey: And he says that lots of times, you don't even run down court. And that you don't really try... except during the playoffs.
Roger Murdock: The hell I don't. LISTEN KID. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes. - N837AW, on 11/10/2009, -0/+3Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?
- cyrusuncc, on 11/10/2009, -0/+3Good for him for wanting to take a bad situation, and use it to help others.
- SPNKrPunk, on 11/10/2009, -0/+3Glad to hear the prognosis is good, Mr Murdock. The airline needs good pilots...
- heaintheavy, on 11/10/2009, -0/+3I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.
- theghoul, on 11/10/2009, -0/+2Cancer sucks. Every time I hear the words "rare form of.." it makes me take pause.
- NotAChickenHawk, on 11/10/2009, -0/+2Tell your old man to try dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court every night.
- LowROI, on 11/10/2009, -0/+2Surely there must be something we can do!
- edebolt, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1anyone ever notice big guys don't seem to live very long? Not sure why that is. Maybe a harder load on the organs.
- FormerBabby, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1JABBER!
- Diggchick83, on 11/11/2009, -0/+1Get well soon Kareem. Best Wishes.
- abstracthuman, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Somehow the words "cancer," "prognosis," and "encouraging" don't sound quite right together.
Regardless, good for modern medicine. Hopefully not too long before everyone is able to receive treatments of all kinds without having to be rich. - unbreakable, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1Do you pay the $3000 out of pocket?
With Gleevac, is there a projected life span? - ThatsNotPoetry, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1I love how the page just keeps loading a Road Runner search while I am reading the article. So great.
- pcyopick, on 11/11/2009, -0/+1Good luck with your treatment.
I'm a cancer researcher specializing in Leukemias in Toronto. Luckily through research people with certain forms of cancer can live relatively normal lives for years. - Supawantastic, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1I am one of the lucky Americans with good (albeit expensive) health care coverage through my employer. I pay $30 USD for one month because the way our plan works the break down is $10, $30, $60 based on the tier of the drug (and formulary vs non-formulary). Many plans still have people paying a percentage which would be a deal breaker for us. I work for a small business (less than 50 people) and because of my medication (and a few women having babies), our group rate went up 65% this year. I'm sure my coworkers are delighted with my diagnosis, especially when there are less than 22,000 new cases each year.
The only lifespan number they talk about is since the drug came out, just short of 90% of the people on the drug are still alive after five years. I recognize that this may indicate that 1 in 10 still die, however given that this illness is often diagnosed in an older population, other illnesses can be at work as well. - reaper527, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1cml is rare? i actually had the same thing when i was in high school. a few years and a bone marrow transplant later, i'm just like everyone else. hopefully he has the same luck that i did! it all comes down to how good of a match they can find for you when they are looking for a marrow donor (or cord blood if you end up going the stem cell route).
good luck jabbar! - tyne101101, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1I hope his health is improving. Good luck Jabbar on the treatment.
- reaper527, on 11/10/2009, -0/+1that plain and simply isn't true trizzle
- brainal, on 11/11/2009, -0/+1Roger Murdock: Flight 2-0-9'er, you are cleared for take-off.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: L.A. departure frequency, 123 point 9'er.
Captain Oveur: Roger!
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Victor Basta: Request vector, over.
Captain Oveur: What?
Tower voice: Flight 2-0-9'er cleared for vector 324.
Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.
Captain Oveur: Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?
Tower voice: Tower's radio clearance, over!
Captain Oveur: That's Clarence Oveur. Over.
Tower voice: Over.
Captain Oveur: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: Roger, over!
Roger Murdock: What?
Captain Oveur: Huh?
Victor Basta: Who? - kronzdigg, on 11/10/2009, -1/+1This is an ad for Novartis
- FattyMagee, on 11/10/2009, -1/+1Did... did somebody dig you down??
- mrzack7, on 11/10/2009, -1/+0if he takes the western medicine to "manage" his disease, he will most likely die a very early unnatural death. the only solution is through proper natural healing and nutrition. he should get at least 1 hour of sun each day to boost his vitamin d3 count.
- trizzleatl, on 11/10/2009, -9/+1you just waste away from the treatment and live a "life" full of pain and suffering for years until you finally do succumb to the disease.
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