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Alabama AD Bill Battle to take medical leave for cancer treatment

The University of Alabama's 73-year-old athletic director Bill Battle will take a short medical leave of absence as he undergoes treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of cancer.

According to The Tuscaloosa News, Battle has undergone three rounds of chemotherapy in the past year and is in good spirits as he heads to Emory University in Atlanta beginning Wednesday for stem cell replacement.

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The school said Battle was originally diagnosed in March 2014 after a radiologist discovered a small tumor on a vertebra during a regular physical examination.