Poison’s Rikki Rockett has revealed he refused to have his tongue amputated after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
The drummer, 64, underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy in 2015, only to then be diagnosed with leukaemia.
In celebration of being cancer-free for 10 years, Rikki reflected on his ‘bullheaded’ response to potentially having his tongue removed.
‘In 2015, I went to my ENT [ear, nose and throat doctor] because I was on my second round of antibiotics to cure a sore throat,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘I got scoped that day, and not long after, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Head and Neck Cancer (Throat Cancer). Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I began a three-month intensive treatment plan that included radiation (5 days a week) and Chemo (weekly).’
Discussing the ‘insane’ side effects, Rikki shared that he ‘lost 30%’ of his body weight and had a painful throat ’24/7′, as well as swelling and tiredness.
He continued: ‘ I could not eat solid food. I had radiation burns. I kept my hair, except that I had a radiation burn around the back so I had to cut my back off. My beard had a radiation line, so I shaved it off.’
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After all that, he was told the treatment didn’t work. Rikki had gone from stage three to four during those three months.
‘I was offered a surgery to remove my tongue,’ he recalled. ‘Me being the bullheaded thing that I am, I refused.’
Instead, the Every Rose Has Its Thorn musician joined a clinical trial for a ‘new approach’, immunotherapy.
In a matter of weeks, his tumours had shrunk by ‘90%’ with Rikki convinced he ‘spat one out’ on the side of the road.
‘I pulled my car over to spit,’ he explained. ‘Spitting had become routine. Something not much different than an effect in Evil Dead landed on the ground.’
While still being treated for his throat cancer, he was also diagnosed with leukaemia, going on to beat both illnesses.
‘I would walk through the infusion room and see people on a drug that was experimental for me, but now has become routine,’ Rikki continued.
‘I was one of the few that gifted that opportunity. I am not taking a bow, I am gracious for the chance … This was bigger than anything I had ever done with Poison. I was part of something miraculous!’
‘If you ever get this or anything like this, take care of yourself, keep working out, get up and take a shower and look your best. Go to a shrink,’ he advised.
‘Treat yourself and make yourself first and then you can come back and help others.’
Rikki plans to share more details of his health journey in a ‘tough to write’ book, in hopes of helping others facing cancer.