Last September, four months on from accidentally revealing his large B-cell lymphoma diagnosis, Blink-182's Mark Hoppus celebrated his recovery by announcing he was officially cancer-free. Now, on the other side of his recovery, the musician has opened up about his cancer journey in a new interview with PEOPLE.
Of finding out about his illness, the bassist told the publication: "I was in our living room crying and telling my wife, 'I don't know if I can do this.' She was like, 'Well, what are you going to do, kill yourself?' And that's exactly what I was thinking. It was pretty dark."
He continued: "It was a total snap-out-of-it moment. I was like, 'What a s---ty thing to say.' But also, what a kind thing to say, like, 'Snap out of it, you f---ing baby. You have a beatable form of cancer. It's going to suck to get there, but get there.' I had to do the work."
Hoppus went on to explain the ways in which his wife continued to support him through treatment — researching foods that help with nausea and dehydration — and spoke about the help that he got from his mom, Kerry Wernz, who had received treatment for, and beat, the same type of cancer in 2019.
Blink fans were apparently super supportive as well, Hoppus said, "Everyone was like, 'You're going to get through this.' It was this rad outpouring of support from strangers. It gave me so much strength and so much hope."
Hoppus shared that despite his support system, chemotherapy was a "brutal" experience: "I had no energy and ended up being on the couch just trying to get through the day."
He continued:
I had the worst brain fog. We were sitting at dinner with friends that we've known for years, and I'm looking at the husband across the table, thinking to myself, "I can't remember your first name." And it was like that all the time. I still feel it once every couple days — I'll forget a word — but it's much better.
Now almost a year cancer-free, Hoppus shared: "I feel like I have a second shot at life."
Read the full interview with PEOPLE here.
Of finding out about his illness, the bassist told the publication: "I was in our living room crying and telling my wife, 'I don't know if I can do this.' She was like, 'Well, what are you going to do, kill yourself?' And that's exactly what I was thinking. It was pretty dark."
He continued: "It was a total snap-out-of-it moment. I was like, 'What a s---ty thing to say.' But also, what a kind thing to say, like, 'Snap out of it, you f---ing baby. You have a beatable form of cancer. It's going to suck to get there, but get there.' I had to do the work."
Hoppus went on to explain the ways in which his wife continued to support him through treatment — researching foods that help with nausea and dehydration — and spoke about the help that he got from his mom, Kerry Wernz, who had received treatment for, and beat, the same type of cancer in 2019.
Blink fans were apparently super supportive as well, Hoppus said, "Everyone was like, 'You're going to get through this.' It was this rad outpouring of support from strangers. It gave me so much strength and so much hope."
Hoppus shared that despite his support system, chemotherapy was a "brutal" experience: "I had no energy and ended up being on the couch just trying to get through the day."
He continued:
I had the worst brain fog. We were sitting at dinner with friends that we've known for years, and I'm looking at the husband across the table, thinking to myself, "I can't remember your first name." And it was like that all the time. I still feel it once every couple days — I'll forget a word — but it's much better.
Now almost a year cancer-free, Hoppus shared: "I feel like I have a second shot at life."
Read the full interview with PEOPLE here.
