John Prine Diagnosed with Lung Cancer

BY Alex HudsonPublished Nov 22, 2013

Influential folkster John Prine has recently postponed a few shows due to illness, and now it unfortunately turns out that he's been diagnosed with lung cancer. Luckily, it's apparently an operable form of the disease, and the 67-year-old singer's prospects for recovery look promising.

Prine said in a statement on his website, "I've been diagnosed with non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. Doctors here in Nashville have caught it early, and it is operable. They see no reason why I won't fully recover."

He noted that this is unrelated to squamous cell cancer, a form of cancer that Prine suffered from (and ultimately beat) in the late '90s.

Prine is evidently expecting to get well soon, as he will still play a December 6 concert in Greensboro, NC, and the December 7 show in Charlotte, NC, as scheduled. After that, though, several of his shows will be moved from December to February and March, while Prine recovers from surgery.

You can check the updated schedule with all the affected dates here.

"For me, there's nothing like performing," he said. "I look forward to seeing all my friends and fans in 2014. We have some great cities and venues lined up."

Prine has been releasing albums since the early '70s. His output has slowed as of late; his 2005 LP Fair & Square is the only recent album to include new original material.

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