Rock legend Dave Mustaine admits becoming a ‘different person’ since throat cancer diagnosis

Dave Mustaine talked about how his life has changed over the years, especially since his throat cancer diagnosis and its treatment.

Megadeth’s inimitable, mercurial leader for over 40 years, the thrash-metal maverick recently announced the disbandment of the group he initially formed in 1983 to rival his ex-bandmates in Metallica.

A global farewell tour is already in progress.

Mustaine’s band have sold in excess of 50 million albums, and this year’s Megadeth, their self-titled 17th and final studio album, went to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.

Having turned 65 this month, Mustaine is calling time on Megadeth mainly because he has a condition called Dupuytren’s contracture as well as severe arthritis in his hands, a less than ideal combo for playing intricate speed-metal guitar. The scars from a battle with throat cancer in recent years also remain.

Mustaine reflects on that time in his new memoir, In My Darkest Hour, which finds him in a vulnerable state as he navigates a grueling course of treatment.

While he spoke with Metro via video call, between dates supporting Iron Maiden across North America, he revealed that Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson has been “one of my heroes for a long time,” and he’s also a throat cancer survivor.

“Bruce hopped on the phone with me because he’d gone through the same process, and I was so grateful for that,” Mustaine told the outlet. “His advice was just to take my time completing the treatment and be patient with the healing – he said that his voice actually sounded better once he’d finished.”

Among others, Paul Stanley of KISS and the late Ozzy Osbourne reached out to wish Mustaine well once his cancer diagnosis was made public. So did Metallica’s James Hetfield.

“It would be inaccurate to say that James and I were best buddies,” Mustaine wrote in In My Darkest Hour. “But we have a shared history that will always be deep and profound. I care about him, and I know that he cares about me.”

The Peace Sells rocker in his own words, is a “different person” after cancer, having received his diagnosis and subsequent treatment in 2019.

“For me, this is a book of hope, and going back over it again when we were doing the audio tracks reminded me how much hope I had,” he said.

“When cancer picks a person, you never know how it’s gonna affect the world of its carrier. It’s almost seven years that I’ve been in remission and one of the side effects is chemo brain – it makes it hard for me to remember stuff. But I’m working through it and I’m not letting anything hold me back. I’ll keep fighting to the end,” Mustaine added.

Rock history proves that retirement is rarely final, but this is different. If you can take any metal legend at their word, it’s Dave Mustaine.

“In my heart I’m not done with playing but my hands are hurting and that’s making it really difficult,” he confessed.

Dave Mustaine then proceeded to praise his Megadeth band members who kept him going, and wrote,

“I’m really grateful for Teemu [Mäntysaari, guitarist] being in the band because he helps make me better every day – so does Dirk [Verbeuren, drummer]. And James [LoMenzo, bassist] is our resident comedian. We do exercises for my neck and my hands before we go on stage. I don’t know how much I can heal but I will not give up.”