Rage Against The Machine bassist Tim Commerford has revealed that he has been privately battling prostate cancer this year. During an interview with Spin, Tim revealed that he underwent surgery to remove his prostate two months before the band reuniting on tour.
He said, “I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious sh*t. Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer. I’ve been someone that’s taken a lot of pride in being in shape and taking care of myself. But it’s something where either you’re either lucky or not.”
He continued, “You can find yourself in a situation like I’m in where it’s like, f*ck, my whole life changed. With everything that happens to me now, I wonder, am I feeling this way because I have cancer? Am I losing my hair because I have cancer? Whatever it is, it makes me wonder if it’s happening because I have cancer.”
He went on to discuss the surgery, saying, “The suffering part of it, the physical suffering after the surgery, I’ve never felt pain quite like that. I have metal plates in my head and cadaver parts in my body. I’ve done a lot of damage through sports and mountain biking and this sort of thing and I’ve always felt like I had a really high tolerance for pain, and that sh*t brought me to my knees.”
