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- Toby Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer.
- He was first diagnosed in the fall of 2021.
- Toby took time to rest after receiving treatment and spending time with his family.
Toby Keith, 61, is one of country music’s biggest stars, so when he announced his battle with stomach cancer, it brought on a lot of support from fans. The talented singer was diagnosed with the illness in the fall of 2021 and announced it in June 2022. He revealed he was going through various forms of treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery and said he was going to take some time to rest from the effects of the treatment and spend more time with his family.
“I’ve spent the last six months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax,” shared on Instagram last summer. “I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”
Find out more about Toby’s diagnosis below.
Toby Keith diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Toby took to social media in June 2022 to share the post above to inform his fans that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021. “I’ve spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax,” he wrote in the message before then assuring fans he would be back on stage once he was feeling better. “I am looking forward to spending time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait. -T,” he added.
What is stomach cancer?
“Stomach cancer, which is also called gastric cancer, is a growth of cells that starts in the stomach,” according to the Mayo Clinic. The stomach is located in the upper middle part of the belly, just below the ribs, and helps to break down and digest food. “In most of the world, stomach cancers happen in the main part of the stomach,” the Mayo Clinic also states.
The website also says that, in the United States, stomach cancer is more likely to start by the gastroesophageal junction. This is the part where the long tube that carries food you swallow meets the stomach. The tube that carries food to the stomach is called the esophagus.”
Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer, which is determined by whether or not it is located just in the stomach. Some of the treatment options that may be used include radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. The prognosis depends on where the cancer cells are. For people with only small stomach cancers, the chances of the treatment working are “quite good,” according to Mayo Clinic. It may even cure the disease completely if caught and treated early enough.
Symptoms of stomach cancer can include trouble swallowing, belly pain, feeling full after eating small amounts of food, losing weight, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, and more.
How long has Toby been sick?
Toby was first diagnosed in the fall of 2021 and started receiving treatment soon after. It’s unclear if he was experiencing symptoms before his diagnosis or if he experienced side effects of the treatment, but he informed his fans almost a year after he found out he was battling the disease, and admitted it was “pretty debilitating” to go through it, in an interview with the CMT Hot 20 Countdown in Nov. 2022.
How is Toby doing today?
Toby gave an update on his condition in Nov. 2022. “I’m thinking about getting back to fightin’ shape,” he told CMT Hot 20 Countdown’s Cody Alan at the time. “I need a little bit of time to just rest up and heal up. It’s pretty debilitating to have to go through all that, but as long as everything stays hunky-dory, then we’ll look at something good in the future.”
The interview happened after he gave a surprise performance at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Lexington, Kentucky, while he was in town for the Breeders’ Cup in early Nov. 2022. While looking thinner, he sang the songs, “I Love This Bar,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” and Otis Redding‘s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.”
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