TK Sanders
Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine recently revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis during an interview with Spin magazine. In the interview, the bass guitarist, 54, said he’s “been dealing with some pretty serious s—.”
“Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, [because] I have prostate cancer.”
Commerford said his girlfriend and his two sons — Xavier, 20, and Quentin, 18, — have been supporting him during his health journey of late. “I’ve been someone that’s taken a lot of pride in being in shape and taking care of myself,” Commerford told the magazine. “But [cancer is] something where either you’re either lucky or not.”
Part of the journey is staying positive, he reflected, which is difficult to do sometimes when a real health crisis is front and center in your life.
“Prostate cancer is a very, very, very tough one because it’s connected to your sexuality,” he said in part. “It’s hard to disconnect from that and when you’re forced into that situation, it’s a brutal psychological journey. I’ve been trying to find support groups, and it’s hard to find people and hard to talk about it.”
The private rocker admitted he didn’t even want to reveal his diagnosis to the world, but changed his mind so that music fans had a better understanding of the band’s future.
Rage Against The Machine had to cancel their tour in October, but not because of Commerford — lead singer Zack de la Rocha tore his achilles tendon
” … Over the last 24 hours, I’ve been thinking about it more, and a weird thing happened,” he explained. “I was with my girlfriend and we were watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on TV. Duran Duran was on and I was like, ‘Ah, f—, I used to learn those songs when I was a kid. I saw them on stage and wondered, where’s Andy Taylor and why do they have this other guy in here?! Then it was like, ‘Andy Taylor is suffering from stage four prostate cancer and is unable to make it.’ My life is sort of like that.”
Commerford also revealed that he only even discovered his diagnosis when he applied for life insurance and needed to get a physical and screening. The insurance company refused coverage, and he knew something was amiss. But ever since his initial diagnosis, he said his recovery has been headed firmly in the right direction.
“I just got my six-month test, and it came back at zero. I was like, ‘F— yeah!’ That’s the best I can feel for the rest of my life. Every day I get closer to that test is like, ‘F— man, is this going to be the time when the number is going to go up and I’m going to the next thing, whatever that is?’ I already went through some pain and s—. And I’m continuing to go through like, some crazy s—,” he said.
The cancer also brought another silver lining: the rock star has since vowed to be the “fittest motherf–er with cancer you’ve ever seen in your life.” He also said his Rage Against The Machine bandmates know of his diagnosis and are working around his treatment schedule.
i appreciate the fact of the information that was given