Bassist Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine, and more recently 7D7D, has opened up to Spin about his private battle with prostate cancer. Commerford reveals he had his prostate removed right before Rage Against The Machine hit the road for their reunion tour earlier this year, adding that he's accepted the disease is simply a "luck of the draw" situation.
"I've been dealing with some pretty serious shit," said Commerford. "Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer. I've been someone that’s taken a lot of pride in being in shape and taking care of myself. But it's something where either you’re either lucky or not."
Commerford discussed his outlook with the disease, saying he's sought out support groups and has been struggling emotionally with the diagnosis. While we can't possibly imaging what Commerford is going through both physically and emotionally, we wish him all the best.
"You can find yourself in a situation like I'm in where it's like, fuck, 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. And prostate cancer is a very, very, very tough one because it's connected to your sexuality. It's hard to disconnect from that and when you're forced into that situation, it's a brutal psychological journey.
"I've been trying to find support groups, and it's hard to find people and hard to talk about it. The suffering part of it, the physical suffering after the surgery, I've never felt pain quite like that. I have metal plates in my head and cadaver parts in my body. I've done a lot of damage through sports and mountain biking and this sort of thing and I've always felt like I had a really high tolerance for pain, and that shit 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 shit, but psychologically, the damage is severe. It's very hard for me to not break down and get emotional."
Commerford later added that he's been doing well recently and received some positive news, but still finds it difficult to remain optemistic at times. "I just got my six-month test, and it came back at zero. I was like, 'Fuck yeah!' That's the best I can feel for the rest of my life. Every day I get closer to that test is like, 'Fuck man, is this going to be the time when the number is going to go up and I'm going to the next thing, whatever that is?' I already went through some pain and shit. And I'm continuing to go through like, some crazy shit."
On a more positive note, Commerford is also streaming his latest 7D7D single "Misinformed." Well, positive in that it's not quite as heavy as discussing mortality and cancer – the lyrics aren't exactly a sunny walk in the park.
