Tony Iommi Issues Update on Cancer Treatment

In a new interview with the Birmingham Mail in England, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi provided an update on his cancer treatment.

The guitarist has been receiving treatment at the Parkway Hospital in Solihull. He will have to return home from tour on a regular basis in order to receive treatment.

"I have to have an antibody administered by drip every six weeks or so to keep the lymphoma in check," Iommi said. "It sort of coats the cancer cells, stops it from going anywhere else. I have to come back home no matter where I might be in the world. The tour dates are arranged so that I can always get back for treatment. It's the only way I can manage my illness and keep on the road. I'd love to play more shows than we're doing but my health has to be sorted out first.

"The infusions I have are part of the chemotherapy regime. It's relatively new treatment and they don't know what all the side-effects might be yet, but I wanted to try it. After each session I feel sick and tired, and that lasts for a week or so. I'm finding that it takes around 10 days to fully recover from each round of treatment, but if that's what it takes, I have to accept it.

"In myself I'm feeling OK now. When I first found that I had the illness, it was a dark time and I was a bit spaced out. Since we've been in rehearsals and recording sessions, I've felt pretty good — great even. I think that the album and tour have given me something immediate to get my teeth into, something to accomplish."

To check out the entire interview, head here.

Black Sabbath recently announced four new tour dates, the track listing of their long-awaited album, 13, and the album's first single, the eight-minute-long "God Is Dead?" The new album will be released June 11.