Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine diagnosed with throat cancer; band cancel tour following diagnosis

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine has been diagnosed with throat cancer. The 57 year old metal band's singer and lead guitarist of Megadeth posted the news on his social media page to share the devastating news while also sharing a ray of optimism quoting that that he is "working closely with my doctors and we've mapped out a treatment plan which they feel has a 90% success rate".

View this post on Instagram

I’ve been diagnosed with throat cancer. It’s clearly something to be respected and faced head on - but I’ve faced obstacles before. I’m working closely with my doctors, and we’ve mapped out a treatment plan which they feel has a 90% success rate. Treatment has already begun. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Unfortunately, this requires that we cancel most shows this year. The 2019 Megacruise will happen, and the band will be a part of it in some form. All up to date information will be at megadeth.com as we get it. Megadeth will be back on the road ASAP. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Meanwhile, Kiko, David, Dirk and I are in the studio, working on the follow up to Dystopia – which I can’t wait for everyone to hear. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m so thankful for my whole team – family, doctors, band members, trainers, and more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ll keep everyone posted. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ See you soon, Dave Mustaine

A post shared by Dave Mustaine (@davemustaine) on Jun 17, 2019 at 8:17am PDT

‘’I’ve been diagnosed with throat cancer. It’s clearly something to be respected and faced head on - but I’ve faced obstacles before. I’m working closely with my doctors, and we’ve mapped out a treatment plan which they feel has a 90% success rate...’’ the heavy metal band frontman tweeted.

Following the diagnosis, the US heavy metal band Megadeth have cancelled most of their remaining shows for 2019. The band will now reportedly only play October’s Megacruise, a three-day festival on a cruise liner with a line-up that also features Anthrax and Testament.

Reassuring his fans, that the 2019 Megacruise would go ahead in October and Megadeth "will be a part of it in some form", Mustaine revealed that he and his bandmates David Ellefson, Kiko Loureiro and Dirk Verbeuren, are working on a follow up to their Grammy Award-winning album Dystopia "which I can't wait for everyone to hear".

Mustaine was also a former band member of the heavy metal band Metallica from 1981 to 1983. He left to form Megadeth, which has gone on to earn 12 Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award in 2017 in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the title track "Dystopia."