“Those touring years are dog years”: Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted believes the “accelerated lifestyle” of touring contributed to his throat cancer diagnosis
Last year, bassist Jason Newsted was diagnosed with throat cancer, and kept it a secret from fans. Though he has already had treatment to fully cure it, he chalks the cancer up to the “accelerated lifestyle” of his time touring with Metallica.
In a new interview with the Let There Be Talk podcast, Newsted explains that he received a cancer diagnosis last February. While he’d been suffering with earaches and a sore jaw, he had simply written it off as minor ailments that were only slightly impacting his ability to sing. When he finally noticed a lump on his neck, he decided it was time to get checked up. “The doctor calls [back] and he says, ‘You need to come in’,” the bassist recalls [via Blabbermouth].
The 63-year-old initially thought “there’s no way…”, before remembering how chaotic his years in Metallica had been. “I expected [a diagnosis like that] maybe 20 years from now… but then I started thinking about it,” he says. “Our accelerated lifestyle [in Metallica]… with the big tours, you’re doing a couple of hundred shows a year… Those touring years are dog years.”
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He goes on to explain how, due to the intense touring schedule, one Metallica year is the equivalent of “four or five” normal years. In his opinion, its a lifestyle that has taken its toll. “If you put the math down, that’s taxing on your cells, three flights a day… that kind of shit, it’ll get you,” he says.
Newsted underwent surgery for this cancer last May, a procedure he describes as the doctor taking “a bunch of shit outta [his throat]” with lasers. “The cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early,” he explains. “And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago! So I beat it.”
While Newsted is happily celebrating his cancer-free future, he advises his rock and roll peers to seriously be cautious and conscious of their own health moving forward. “There’s 550 cancers that we deal with… and there’s no telling when it’s going to come,” he reflects. “I wanna be an advocate, of course, for everyone to be aware of things like that. It can happen to anybody.”
To further prove his point, he name-drops peers that have also suffered from mouth, tongue and throat related cancers, pointing to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and Social Distortion’s Mike Ness. “It’s the most prevalent cancer now for males over 40,” Newsted explains.
Despite the lifestyle taking its toll on his body, Newsted doesn’t regret his time in Metallica. The bassist parted ways with Metallica back in 2001 after 15 years, and continues to be a massive supporter of the thrashers.
Regardless of his diagnosis, the bassist hopes to carry out his North American headline tour with his Chophouse Band project this summer. The tour comes a full year after his cancer surgery, so Newsted is ripe and ready to roll. “I promised myself I was going to rest [after my surgery], and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life,” he says.
Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band will be playing an eight-date headline tour this July, before supporting country rockers Blackberry Smoke for a further 10 dates.
For tickets and more information on Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band’s summer tour, head to the band’s website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
