Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Diagnosed With Throat Cancer

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has been diagnosed with throat cancer. The vocalist and guitarist took to his Facebook earlier today to announce his diagnosis and address the issue to Megadeth fans.

"I’ve been diagnosed with throat cancer," writes Dave. "It’s clearly something to be respected and faced head on -- but I’ve faced obstacles before. I’m working closely with my doctors, and we’ve mapped out a treatment plan which they feel has a 90% success rate. Treatment has already begun.

"Unfortunately, this requires that we cancel most shows this year. The 2019 Megacruise will happen, and the band will be a part of it in some form. All up to date information will be at megadeth.com as we get it. Megadeth will be back on the road ASAP.

"Meanwhile, Kiko, David, Dirk and I are in the studio, working on the follow up to Dystopia -- which I can’t wait for everyone to hear.

"I’m so thankful for my whole team -- family, doctors, band members, trainers, and more.

"I’ll keep everyone posted."

This is obviously terrible news, but given Dave's determination over the years battling addiction and keeping his band alive and well, we know he'll be able to face this hardship, too.

Everyone at Kerrang! sends their hearts out to Dave and his family, friends, bandmates, and fans.

Earlier this year, Dave himself took a moment to talk with Kerrang! about how to survive heavy metal as a lifestyle. “I had an arm injury at one point where I had to stop playing," he said, "which was kind of like putting a race car up on the blocks for a while -- you knew what it was capable of, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I felt like the hole in a doughnut. I’d meet people and I’d say, ‘I’m a guitar player,’ but I’m not a guitar player; that’s what I do but it’s not what I am. I love what I do, but that was such an amazing time for me to have my gift taken away from me. I couldn’t play. I couldn’t even hold a cigarette in my left hand. I went 17 months without holding a guitar, so when I started playing again it was a whole new world for me. It made me super grateful.

"That’s where I’m at now," he continued. "I look at the line-ups and I think I’m so grateful for all the time I spent with Nick [Menza, late drummer], even though we had a lot of really hard times at the end. I didn’t spend a lot of time with Nick at the end, I know he was working, he was playing, and I know he passed away doing what he loved: he was playing his drums, so god bless you, Nick. Believe it or not but Nick’s old man was the saxophone player on the Pink Panther song! When we first hired him, he was a drum tech, just like Chuck Behler was. We had Gar, Chuck was his tech, Gar messed up, Chuck got the job. Chuck’s the drummer, Nick’s the tech, Chuck messes up, Nick gets the job (laughs).”

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