During Megadeth’s show at the SSE Arena in London on Friday night, frontman Dave Mustaine declared that he was 100-percent cancer free. The revelation came roughly seven months after he initially revealed he was battling throat cancer.
In October, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson announced that Mustaine had completed his cancer treatments. And in November, Mustaine shared his progress in an interview with Rolling Stone, but didn’t say at the time whether he was completely free of cancer.
At the London concert, Mustaine addressed the crowd from the stage, offering a more definitive update on his condition:
“About a year ago, we were working on our new album back in Franklin, Tennessee, and I started to feel some pain over here [points to his throat]. So I went to the doctor and he said, ‘Dave, you have cancer.’ And I went, ‘F**k! I have cancer.’ And I was so shocked. At first, I thought, ‘Am I afraid?’ And then I said, ‘No. I’m f**king pissed.’ And we stopped the record; we stopped everything. I went into treatment for cancer. It was 51 radiation treatments and nine chemo treatments. And when it was all said and done, every day I would think, ‘I can’t face not playing again. I can’t face not playing again.’
So I would pray. I know a lot of you guys know that I pray. I say that in [Megadeth’s song] ‘Peace Sells’. I pray every day. I say that in the song. I’ve said it since the second record. But I thought about you guys every day, too. And I thought about my family. And I got this power from you guys. And I just kept thinking about it. And on October 16th, I went to go see the doctor, and he said, ‘You’re 100 percent free of cancer.'”
After canceling all of their 2019 tour dates in the wake of Mustaine’s cancer diagnosis, Megadeth are currently back on the road supporting Five Finger Death Punch in the UK and Europe. The tour continues through a February 22nd gig in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The thrash-metal veterans have also resumed working on their 16th studio album, with hopes to release the LP in 2020. The album will be the follow-up to 2016’s Grammy-winning effort Dystopia.
Watch Dave Mustaine address the London audience below.
