Judas Priest's Rob Halford Reveals Cancer Battle

Bruce Henne | 10-17-2021

Photo by antiMusic's Rob Grabowski

(hennemusic) Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has revealed that he battled prostate cancer last year during the global pandemic. "I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that's in remission now, thank God," Halford tells Consequence Heavy while promoting the newly-released career-spanning box set, "50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music." "That happened while we were all locked down, so things happen for a reason as far as time sequence of events. I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life, still doing what I love the most."

The legendary rocker shares more details about the health issues he faced in the past year in a newly-added chapter to the just-released updated paperback edition of his 2020 memoir, "Confess."

The Judas Priest vocalist had been experiencing symptoms dating back to 2017. "How did I feel?" he writes. "I felt a combination of shock, horror, and oddly, relief - at least now I know!...'Am I going to die?' It was all I could think of. I know blokes who've died of prostate cancer. 'No, you're not going to die, Rob,' said Dr. Ali."

Halford underwent prostatectomy surgery in July 2020 to remove the cancer, and faced radiation therapy this past spring after more cancer was discovered on his prostate bed; he is now in remission after receiving an all-clear in June, and had an appendectomy after a tumor was discovered on his appendix.

"It's been a draining year, I can't deny it, but I'm delighted to have come through it," Halford writes. "I feel like I've had the most thorough MOT (moment of truth) that a Metal God can have." Read more here.

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