Rod Stewart’s ‘palms went cold’ after receiving terrifying health diagnosis

Rod Stewart openly and honest about the time he was diagnosed with cancer, recalling how, when he heard the news, his “palms went cold.” Today is the 80th birthday of the legendary Maggie May singer.

He’s still enjoying a global tour, but he previously acknowledged that a health scare might have caused things to look very different for him.

It unfolded after a routine check-up at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where Rod initially felt as “fit as a butcher’s dog”. He was called into the doctor’s office after being screened for thyroid gland issues after taking several tests.

The singer detailed the anxious moments in 2012 autobiography: “The following day, I went back to the hospital and underwent a biopsy. Under a local anaesthetic, part of the affected area was removed using a needle and taken away for analysis.

“And the following day, I received a call at home that I took standing, which caused my palms to swell.” The results of the tests indicated that the ‘something’ on my thyroid gland was a malignant growth: cancer. “

For Stewart, who noted such news will “really do it to you”, admitted feeling unprecedented fear and vulnerability. Shortly after receiving this daunting news, Rod was back at the hospital for surgery, and to maintain privacy, he checked in under the alias “Billy Potts” – a nod to his dogs’ names, reports the Daily Record.

He was heavily burdened by the operation’s critical nature, which required precise positioning near his vocal cords. “Any slip”, he confided, could have curtailed his singing career forever.

The singer underwent a successful operation and didn’t need chemotherapy, which meant his hair was safe—a prospect he jokingly referred to as a career-ending threat “second only” to losing his voice. However, speaking on Loose Women in 2021, Rod revealed that he did lose his voice, admitting that the days of staying up all night, getting drunk, and going mad without affecting his vocal cords are over, and now he has to “protect” his voice.

He shared at the time: “I had a touch of thyroid cancer, it was over and out within 10 minutes. I don’t want to pretend to have battled cancer for months. I was very quickly able to get rid of it, but I did completely lose my voice. “

Source: Mirror