Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in early 2012 after doctors found a lump in his throat. Iommi announced that after treatment, he was in remission as of August 2016. As cancer patient tell you though, remission doesn't mean cured. Iommi tells Loudwire in a new interview that according to his oncologist his cancer will unfortunately come back at some point.
“To me, it’s never going to go away, it’s always going to be there. According to my oncologist, it’s probably going to come back. It’s hard to sort of go, ‘Oh, well that’s brilliant then.’ Every day is a winner, really. We’ll see. I hope it doesn’t come back, but you never know.”
Iommi also addresses his inability to tour after being diagnosed and after the final Black Sabbath tour, saying it's "been hard traveling since I was diagnosed. I have to sort of be careful." According to the American Cancer Society, the overall 5-year relative survival rate for people with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is 70%, and 10-year survival rate is 60%. These numbers vary based on the patient's age, co-morbidities, and stage of diagnosis.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mec1wAGsQG8[/youtube]
