Rage Against The Machine’s Tim Commerford diagnosed with prostate cancer

Virgin Radio

13 Dec 2022, 13:50

Rage Against The Machine bassist Tim has revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The musician has played with the band and provided backing vocals since they formed in 1991. They recently reunited for a tour this summer and Commerford revealed he had his prostate removed two months before shows kicked off in July.

At the time, only his family, bandmates and a close group of friends knew of his diagnosis.

Speaking to Spin, he said: “I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious s***. Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer.”

Even though he had always taken care of his health, Tim says cancer was “something where either you’re lucky or not”.

He said: “You can find yourself in a situation like I’m in where it’s like, f***, my whole life changed. With everything that happens to me now, I wonder, am I feeling this way because I have cancer? Am I losing my hair because I have cancer? Whatever it is, it makes me wonder if it’s happening because I have cancer.”

The musician also shared that he found it “hard to talk about” because the prostate was “connected to you sexuality”.

He added: “It’s a brutal psychological journey... The suffering part of it, the physical suffering after the surgery, I’ve never felt pain quite like that... I’ve always felt like I had a really high tolerance for pain, and that s*** brought me to my knees.

“After the pain went away, I still haven’t really been able to get up, even though I’m working out and doing s***, but psychologically, the damage is severe. It’s very hard for me to not break down and get emotional.”

Commerford also said that he started to notice something wasn’t right when he struggled to get medical insurance due to irregular PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels.

He shared: “I watched it over the course of a year and a half, and it kept elevating further. Eventually, they did a biopsy and found out I had cancer, so they took my prostate out,” he said. “I blame myself. I should have said, ‘My numbers are elevated and what does that really mean?’ I should have taken it more seriously.

“Now I’m in the situation that I’m in, which is, hold your breath for six months. It’s not a good one and not one that I’m happy about. I’m just trying to grab ahold of the reins. It’s gonna be a long journey, I hope.”