Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has gone public with his diagnosis of a rare form of leukemia.

via Medbroadcast: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) occurs more slowly than AML and has less effect on the development of other cell types. Chances of getting CML are one in one million for children under 10 and 1 in 10,000 for people over 80.

The former NBA star knew something was wrong when he began experiencing hot flashes and sweats. Though Abdul-Jabbar, 62, won’t speak about his prognosis, he says that the cancer has not significantly affected his quality of life.

A family history of colorectal cancer led Abdul-Jabbar to collaborate with the NBA to promote cancer awareness. Now he’s involved in a patient advocacy campaign sponsored by pharmaceutical company Novartis. For more details about his efforts, check out his Facebook page here.

Watch a quick video overview of CML: