Etta James has been told her leukaemia is incurable.

The 'At Last' hitmaker - who was diagnosed with the cancer earlier this year, in addition to dementia - is now said to be "terminally ill" and her live-in doctor has asked for fans to pray for her.

According to TMZ.com, Etta was told two weeks ago she would not recover from her illness.

Etta has been struggling with bad health for the last year, and was admitted to a California hospital to deal with a form of blood poisoning caused by a urinary tract infection.

She was treated in 2010 for the same problem.

The 73-year-old singer - who underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2003 after a long struggle with obesity - was at the centre of a court case this year when her son Donto James and husband Artis Mills were involved in a dispute over the control of her assets for payment of her medical care.

Though it was not disputed that she needs the assistance, her son's lawyers questioned the care of a live-in physician and disputed her husband's control for the payments.

Both parties eventually agreed to resolve the dispute with mediation.