Judas Priest singer Rob Halford has revealed that he survived a fight with prostate cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The metal god posted two images of his hand — outfitted with an IV port, a hospital wristband and a set of prayer beads — throwing up the metal horns with the message “Never give up. Never give in.”
In the pics posted on Saturday (Oct. 16), Halford wrote, “thanks for all the love maniacs and guys get your prostate checked.” Halford, 70, spoke to Consequence last week about his battle, revealing that it took place a year ago. “I got through and that’s in remission now, thank God,” he said. “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.”
Though Halford had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis or treatment, the site reported that additional details were slipped into the updated paperback edition of the singer’s 2020 memoir, Confess, in which he reveals that he was first diagnosed and treated in the spring of 2020 and then again in early 2021.
“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,” Halford wrote about the drawn-out testing that followed his first symptoms in 2017. “‘No, you’re not going to die, Rob,’ said Dr. Ali,’” with Halford noting that he opted for prostatectomy surgery, which was successfully done in July 2020, choosing to remove the cancer rather than undergo radiation therapy; the updated book also notes that he had additional radiation treatments in April and May of this year and was given the all-clear in June.
In addition, Halford wrote that he also underwent an appendectomy after doctors found a tumor on his appendix. “It’s been a draining year, I can’t deny it, but I’m delighted to have come through it,” Halford reportedly wrote. “I feel like I’ve had the most thorough MOT that a Metal God can have.” Halford kept then news quiet, writing that he told his family and partner, Thomas Pence, and left it to Priest management to tell the rest of the band.
JP were in the midst of a half-century celebration when their North American tour was cut short after guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered a ruptured aorta on stage at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville.
Check out Halford’s post below.