NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia — but the basketball great cautions that his prognosis is encouraging.

Abdul-Jabbar, one of pro basketball’s all-time greatest players, announced Tuesday morning that he has cancer.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in December 2008, the 62-year-old told The Associated Press.

“I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis,” he explained. “That’s not normal, even for my age….I was scared. I thought it was all the same. I thought it could mean I have a month to live.”

“That was my first question,” he said. “Was I going to make it?”

Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn’t give any guarantees, but informed him: “You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle.”

Abdul-Jabbar is currently taking an oral medication for the disease. He is a paid spokesman for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which makes a drug that treats the illness.

“Having lost one of my closest friends to a different, highly aggressive form of leukemia, I knew how serious my diagnosis was,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “My own life expectancy became a question mark.”

Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 1989.

He says he is breaking his silence now to spread the word for others who suffer from the disease. Kareem is encouraging fellow patients and families to visit www.CMLAlliance.com for disease education, treatment information, testing and reimbursement support.