Arizona Football Player Diagnosed With Form of Acute Leukemia

University of Arizona football player Kevin Singleton has been diagnosed with a form of acute leukemia and began chemotherapy several days ago because his condition was potentially fatal, a cancer specialist said Thursday.

Singleton, a 6-foot-2, 231-pound senior linebacker who was an All-Pacific 10 Conference honorable mention selection last season, was hospitalized last Friday at University Medical Center.

Dr. Robert M. Rifkin, associate director of the bone marrow transplant program at the Arizona Cancer Center, said it was important that Singleton’s leukemia was detected “almost within a week, or less,” of developing.

Rifkin said Singleton is undergoing a three- to four-week therapy that will be followed by another chemotherapy regimen of four to six weeks.

“There is at least an 80% chance in Kevin’s case of attaining complete remission at the three-week mark, so I think that those are fairly good odds,” Rifkin said.

After the second treatment phase, further chemotherapy could be possible, or doctors could decide to attempt a transplant of bone marrow from his brother Chris, an identical twin, Rifkin said.