Rage Against The Machine bassist Tim Commerford has opened up about his battle with prostate cancer.
Commerford had his prostate removed after being diagnosed with cancer prior to the band’s big reunion tour earlier this year.
“I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious shit,” the 54-year-old guitarist told Spin in a new interview. “Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer.”
He added, “[M]y doctors said I wasn’t going to be ready. That was brutal. I would be on stage looking at my amp in tears. Then you just kind of turn around and suck it up.”
Commerford did not reveal when he was diagnosed with cancer, but it was discovered after his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test numbers rose steadily over the course of a year-and-a-half.
“Eventually, they did a biopsy and found out I had cancer, so they took my prostate out,” he said. ” I had been thinking, well, because they’re watching it and let it get to this point, maybe it’s not that big of a deal. I blame myself.”
He added, “I should have said, ‘My numbers are elevated, and what does that really mean?’ I should have taken it more seriously. I should have looked into alternate therapy instead of getting sucked into the most disgusting, capitalistic machine on the face of the planet: the medical establishment.”
Only his bandmates and a small circle of friends were aware of his diagnosis, he said. In October, Rage Against the Machine canceled their 2023 North American Tour after bandleader Zack de la Rocha severely tore his Achilles tendon at the second show of the tour.
(Photo: Scott Penner)
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