Dave Mustaine reveals throat cancer diagnosis, cancels Megadeth's upcoming tour
Dave Mustaine, the mercurial founder and frontman of the thrash metal band Megadeth, took to social media Monday to announce that he’s been diagnosed with throat cancer. The 57-year-old rocker said the band will have to cancel their remaining 2019 concert dates so that he can undergo treatment.
“It’s clearly something to be respected and faced head on — but I’ve faced obstacles before,” Mustaine said. “I’m working closely with my doctors, and we’ve mapped out a treatment plan which they feel has a 90% success rate. Treatment has already begun.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, this requires that we cancel most shows this year.”
Megadeth was scheduled to play Tuesday evening in Montreal before continuing on a summer tour hitting cities including Vancouver, Sacramento, and the July 4 “Summerfest” show in Milwaukee. This was to have been followed by appearances throughout South America in September and October.
All such tour dates have been deleted from the band’s official website. However, the band is still listed as taking to the high seas in October for the Megacruise out of Los Angeles. In his Facebook post, Mustaine said he believes the Megacruise will still take place Oct. 13-18.
“The 2019 Megacruise will happen, and the band will be a part of it in some form,” he said, without specifying anything further.
Mustaine isn’t the first major rocker to face down throat cancer. In 2014, Iron Maiden lead Bruce Dickinson had surgery to remove a cancerous lump on his throat. He has since recovered and continues to sing with the band, although he said that his vocal chords were “cooked” due to the required cancer treatments. (Dickinson also infamously said he believed his sexual habits may have been part of the reason for his illness.)
Megadeth’s most recent album, Dystopia, was released in 2016. In his statement, Mustaine said the band will now spend more time in the recording studio with the road dates officially shelved.
“Kiko, David, Dirk and I are in the studio, working on the follow up to Dystopia — which I can’t wait for everyone to hear,” he wrote.
The American Cancer Society reports that approximately 53,000 diagnoses of “oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer” are given each year, and of those cases, nearly a fifth prove to be fatal.
Mustaine previously had to cut short Megadeth’s 2017 tour due to a bout of Lyme disease, which he said he picked up from a tick, and which left him feeling extremely fatigued.
Mustaine was part of an early iteration of Metallica, but was kicked out of the band in the early 1980s. He then went on to form Megadeth, frequently cited as one of the “big four” metal bands along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.
“I’m so thankful for my whole team — family, doctors, band members, trainers, and more,” Mustaine said in his Facebook post.
“I’ll keep everyone posted. See you soon, Dave Mustaine.”
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