Black Sabbath's Iommi recalls surprise cancer remission news

Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi (Image credit: Getty)

Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi has revealed the “interesting” way that he discovered his cancer was in remission.

The 68-year-old guitarist, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012 , was presenting the Spire Specialist Care Centre in Solihull with an award this summer when a journalist asked him about his health.

He tells UCR: “It was really interesting how I got the news. I only got it because I was presenting the hospital where I received treatment with an award, and a writer who I was doing an interview with asked me if I was in remission. I turned to my doctor and asked, ‘Am I in remission?’ The doctor said, ‘Yes.’ And that’s how I got to know.”

But Iommi is still cautiously optimistic on his road to recovery. He adds: “I’m always feeling around for lumps and bumps, and so I’m never comfortable. I had a friend that went into remission and she planned a big party, and then the cancer came back. You just never know.

“It’s just one of those things. I certainly didn’t expect it to come out that I was in remission because, well, I don’t know.”

Iommi previously praised the facility where he was treated, saying it was “a warm and welcoming environment.”

He added: “All the staff are friendly and helpful. You can talk to them about any concerns you may have, about your treatment or just about life in general, which is sometimes exactly what you need.

“I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for me, and others like me.”

Iommi and Black Sabbath are currently touring North America on The End tour, finishing in the band’s hometown of Birmingham in February.

Black Sabbath The End tour remaining dates 2016⁄2017

Nov 08: Oklahoma BOK Center, OK
Nov 10: Houston Toyota Center, TX
Nov 12: San Antonio AT&T Center, TX
Nov 16: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Nov 19: Santiago Estadio Nacional, Chile
Nov 24: Cordoba En El Orfeo Superdomo, Argentina
Nov 26: Buenos Aires Estadio Velez, Argentina
Nov 30: Curitiba Pedrerira Paulo Leminski, Brazil
Dec 02: Rio Praca Da Apoteose, Brazil
Dec 04: Sao Paulo Estadio Do Morumbi, Brazil
Jan 20: Dublin 3 Arena, Ireland
Jan 22: Manchester Arena, UK
Jan 24: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
Jan 26: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Jan 29: London O2, UK
Jan 31: London O2, UK
Feb 02: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
Feb 04: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK

The Black Sabbath Lyrics Quiz: can you match the line to the song?

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.