Back in August, Rage Against the Machine announced the cancellation of several UK and European tour dates after frontman, Zack de la Rocha tore his achilles tendon.
That led to hopes of a new year, a healed Zach and a North American tour set to kick off in New Mexico in February. In October, the band announced the cancellation of that tour to allow more time for him to fully heal.
Now, bassist Tim Commerford has revealed he’s been diagnosed with and battling prostate cancer.
In an interview with SPIN, Commerford said he had his prostate removed just before the band was set to tour earlier in the year.
“I went to get life insurance, but my PSA numbers were up. I couldn’t get it. They wouldn’t insure me. At first, the number was very low – like one-point-something. I watched it over the course of a year and a half, and it kept elevating further. Eventually, they did a biopsy and found out I had cancer, so they took my prostate out. 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.”
Commerford’s parents both died of cancer; his father in his 70s, mother in her 40s. But good news in on the horizon for Tim as he just had his six-month checkup and his numbers came back at zero, which is great news.
For now, the world will have to wait to see the band on stage again. But hopefully once Tim and Zack are fully healthy, they will be ready to lead us all to Rage-against the machine.
Gentlemen I will leave you with this: Get your prostate checked. Your colon too. Don’t be afraid, don’t be embarrassed. If you can catch it early, you can treat it early. Learn more at cancer.org
