It's been two years since guitar great Tony Iommi announced that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, but when the 66-year-old got treatment and pressed ahead with Black Sabbath's reunion, we hoped that he was out of the woods. Apparently this isn't the case, since Iommi has written a column explaining that the cancer will likely return.
In a piece for the Daily Mirror, Iommi detailed the many treatments he has undergone since early 2012. He was diagnosed after undergoing a treatment to reduce the size of his prostate, and subsequently underwent chemotherapy and made many lifestyle changes.
Although he's finished treatments for the time being, he doesn't actually know whether the treatments worked, since he has had too much radiation and isn't able to get any more scans at the moment.
"The surgeon told me he doesn't expect the cancer to go away. There's a 30 percent chance that it could, but more than likely it will come back and it could be any time," Iommi revealed. "I look at life differently now. I could be here another 10 years or just one year — I don't know."
Sadly, Iommi now lives with the daily fear that he cancer will return. He explained, "Every day I feel around for lumps and bumps. Every time I get a pain in my stomach I think, 'Oh God, it's cancer.' It's horrible. I even dream about it."
However, Iommi does still come through with a positive slant on it all, writing, "Sometimes I wonder if I should try to live a more peaceful life. Then I think, 'I don't want to let the illness take over.' After all, I enjoy where I'm at now."
You can read the entire column here.
Meanwhile, Black Sabbath are currently writing one more album and plan to tour. Hopefully for Iommi's sake, his health holds up.
The band released 13 in 2013.
In a piece for the Daily Mirror, Iommi detailed the many treatments he has undergone since early 2012. He was diagnosed after undergoing a treatment to reduce the size of his prostate, and subsequently underwent chemotherapy and made many lifestyle changes.
Although he's finished treatments for the time being, he doesn't actually know whether the treatments worked, since he has had too much radiation and isn't able to get any more scans at the moment.
"The surgeon told me he doesn't expect the cancer to go away. There's a 30 percent chance that it could, but more than likely it will come back and it could be any time," Iommi revealed. "I look at life differently now. I could be here another 10 years or just one year — I don't know."
Sadly, Iommi now lives with the daily fear that he cancer will return. He explained, "Every day I feel around for lumps and bumps. Every time I get a pain in my stomach I think, 'Oh God, it's cancer.' It's horrible. I even dream about it."
However, Iommi does still come through with a positive slant on it all, writing, "Sometimes I wonder if I should try to live a more peaceful life. Then I think, 'I don't want to let the illness take over.' After all, I enjoy where I'm at now."
You can read the entire column here.
Meanwhile, Black Sabbath are currently writing one more album and plan to tour. Hopefully for Iommi's sake, his health holds up.
The band released 13 in 2013.
