Tony Iommi Opens up About Health, Will Undergo Throat Surgery
Tony Iommi, who announced in August that his cancer is in remission, has revealed that he’ll soon undergo surgery to remove a lump from his throat. However, it’s unclear whether the lump is cancerous or related to his previous bout with lymphoma.
“I went for a check four weeks ago and the doctor said that at the moment there is no activity where I had the cancer before, but there is activity in the throat,” the Black Sabbath guitarist told the Irish Times. “When I get back to England, I have to have an operation to remove this thing at the back of my nose. The doctors found a lump there and we don’t know if it is cancer or what, but I feel OK at the moment.”
With Black Sabbath‘s The End tour set to conclude after the final European leg in January and February, Iommi admitted that his health woes are part of the reason he’s leaning toward quitting the touring life. “I was knocked for six when the doctors told me that it was, that it was stage III cancer,” Iommi said. “It really did change my life as far as what I have to do now. I have to live what life I’ve got because I have been on the road nearly 50 years. I need to be at home more and I need to pay more attention to my friends and family.”
Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012. After a four-year battle, the guitarist revealed the disease was in remission, although he anticipated that the cancer would reemerge. “The surgeon told me he doesn’t expect the cancer to go away,” Iommi said in 2015. “So, I look at life differently now. I could be here another 10 years or just one year — I don’t know.”