Doctor Refutes Eddie Van Halen Cancer Claim

William Lee | 10-16-2019

A doctor has spoken out about claims made by guitar legend Eddie Van Halen that the use of metal guitar picks may have been a cause of his cancer.

Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and in 2015 he shared the following with Billboard, "I used metal picks they're brass and copper which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer. Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that's filled with electromagnetic energy. So that's one theory."

Last week, TMZ published a report based on anonymous sources that Eddie has been flying to Germany for throat cancer treatment and they mentioned the metal pick idea in their story.

Insider.com reached out to Dr. Tom Micklewright to get his thoughts on the probability that the metal guitar picks could have caused Eddie's cancer and he told the publication, "Copper coils have been used as contraception in the human body for many years without evidence in increased cancer risk.

"In contrast, numerous chemicals contained within cigarettes have been conclusively proven to significantly increase cancer risk, and the more likely cause of his throat cancer."