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Health problems

Abdul-Jabbar suffers from migraines, and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has had legal ramifications. In November 2009, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he was suffering from a form of leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome -positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The disease was diagnosed in December 2008, but Abdul-Jabbar said his condition could be managed by taking oral medication daily, seeing his specialist every other month, and having his blood analyzed regularly. He expressed in a 2009 press conference that he did not believe the illness would stop him from leading a normal life. Abdul-Jabbar is a spokesman for Novartis, the company that produces Gleevec, his cancer medication.

In February 2011, Abdul-Jabbar announced via Twitter that his leukemia was gone and he was "100% cancer free". A few days later, he clarified his misstatement: "You're never really cancer-free and I should have known that. My cancer right now is at an absolute minimum." In April 2015, Abdul-Jabbar was admitted to hospital when he was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Later that week, on his 68th birthday, he underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery at the UCLA Medical Center.

In 2020 Abdul-Jabbar revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer eleven years earlier.

In February 2023, he spoke out about his atrial fibrillation diagnosis. He partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer 's "No Time to Wait" to raise awareness of the symptoms of the irregular and rapid heart rhythm condition which increase the risk of stroke. In December 2023, he was hospitalized after he fell and broke his hip while attending a concert.