Mavericks frontman Raul Malo has been battling stage 4 colon cancer.
On Wednesday, he took to social media with a grim update. As a result, the band will be canceling all remaining concerts for the year.
He revealed that he has developed leptomeningeal disease (LMD) — a condition that occurs when cancer cells invade the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
“I want to update you all on my health, as things have taken a turn,” he posted on Instagram. “As it goes with cancer, it’s a very unpredictable and indiscriminatory disease. I’ve developed something called LMD, which stands for ‘get this s–t out of my head.’
“Treatment for this is radiation, which I will start tomorrow. We will probably jump into some chemo, and are even looking at alternative therapies. But it’s time to take your words to heart of resting & recovering, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
While live performances have been canceled, he still plans to work.
“We’ll continue doing cool projects, releasing live recordings, merchandise, Trovador and so forth. I want to thank Dwight Yoakam, his band, and crew for their kindness and understanding this year, and sorry we couldn’t finish the tour the way we planned.
Malo, 60, had surgery in August. However, earlier this month, the group announced he was taking more time off on the direction of his doctors.
“But I want to let everybody know, I am in no way alone, or scared,” he said. “I have an amazing wife and boys, wonderful family, team, road crew, band, friends and fans. I don’t even have enough words to describe the love and support that I’m getting right now.
“To my friends who have sent me texts and messages, I want you to know that I’ve read them all. I can’t return them all, but your love, prayers, and well wishes have not gone unnoticed.
“We don’t know what this will look like a couple months from now, but we are going into it like we have with everything else. Full steam ahead. Fight, recover, rest, repeat.”
He then shared his appreciation for his fans.
“I want to thank you all for your incredible support through all this, and sorry about the cancellations but we have no choice anymore,” Malo said. “Find kindness and empathy out there wherever you can. Humans are alright, even if you don’t believe it from what you see on TV. We will keep you informed as this goes, and I promise, no more bullfighting pictures without context.”
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Wow, Malos got a new LMD to tackle! Glad to hear radiations the plan and hes got an amazing support crew – definitely more than enough get this s t out of my head fuel. Hope the chemo and alternative therapies dont interfere too much with his plans for live recordings and merchandise. And a quick note: no more bullfighting pics without context, please, we need our Malo, not just random animal action! Keep fighting, recovering, and resting, King Malo. Full steam ahead on this crazy journey!