A few years ago, David Lee Roth seemed to insinuate a Van Halen reunion tour with Michael Anthony was in the works, with the band hoping to book Yankee Stadium, but those plans did not come to fruition. With Roth launching his Las Vegas residency, things aren't looking good for Van Halen, but it turns out not for lack of trying.
Last week, we reported on an interview with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather by Eddie Trunk, where Lukather hinted at health issues for Eddie Van Halen being the reason for no Van Halen activity at the moment.
"[Eddie] and Alex are sitting there laying back and they're waiting to see what happens next. I think they're on a hiatus. There's been some health issues that they're dealing with and stuff like that. We're older guys now, and to go on the road, and stuff like that, it requires a lot of extra effort in terms of as a human being…I'm not the guy to say anything. I love those brothers so much and we've always had a great relationship. I'm a big fan and also adore them as human beings."
A new report from TMZ suggests that Eddie has been flying back and forth between the U.S. and Germany to get treatment for throat cancer.
Eddie was diagnosed with the disease 20 years ago, and famously had a portion of his tongue removed to get rid of the cancer. TMZ is reporting that he has been telling friends that the cancer cells have migrated down his throat over the last few years, and doctors would scrape them out.
TMZ is reporting that a source tells them that Eddie has been flying to Germany for radiation treatments for the last five years. TMZ sources seem to indicate that Eddie is doing okay, at least on the surface.
While Eddie is known as a serial chain smoker, even smoking after getting rid of the throat cancer, TMZ is reporting that Eddie had been told that the source of cancer was from constantly putting a metal guitar pick in his mouth.
Regardless, we hope nothing but the best for Eddie Van Halen.
