Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has publicly disclosed that he has spent the last year undergoing medical treatment for throat cancer. During a recent appearance on Bill Burr‘s “Monday Morning Podcast“, the 63-year-old musician detailed the surgical procedures and recovery process that followed his diagnosis in May 2025.
The illness led to a transoral robotic laser surgery, also known as TORS, which was performed to remove the cancer from the back of his throat along with his lymph nodes. Jason Newsted noted that the condition was caught early, allowing him to successfully complete a year of treatment and return to his physical “touring weight.”
“About a couple of days from now, two days from now will be one year [since I underwent a procedure for] throat cancer. 62 years old, last year in May. So they go in there, they cut that open. They took out all my lymph nodes out of here. They go in this way with this thing called a TORS surgery, where it’s trans[oral] robotic laser surgery, and they go inside there and cut a bunch of stuff out of the back of my head. They found it early. We got all of it. I’m good now, but it took a year [to get through all the treatment],” Jason stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The health crisis served as a significant wake-up call for the bassist, who played with Metallica from 1986 to 2001. After stepping back from the intensive touring lifestyle during his 40s and 50s, Jason Newsted explained that this experience was the closest he has ever come to “not breathing,” which sparked a renewed desire to perform live. This summer, he is set to embark on his first-ever North American headlining tour with The Chophouse Band, which will include several dates opening for Blackberry Smoke.
“I didn’t [publicly] share [my cancer diagnosis] until this week. So I’m telling people now… But the deal is kind of one of the reasons that I’m coming back [to touring]. I [slowed down] for a while. I did that through my 40s and 50s. And now this thing put me in check more than anything ever has. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to not breathing. And so now the most alive that I can feel, just as you do with your kids, or on the stage, or playing drums, or whatever it is, when I feel the most alive is when I’m playing really loud and screaming and sweating and exchanging with the people. So I’m going back out. I manifested this. I went and talked to the Blackberry [Smoke] guys. I talked to [Blackberry Smoke vocalist and guitarist] Charlie [Starr]. And I asked Charlie, ‘Man, how about you let Chophouse Band come and open some shows for you on your 25th-anniversary tour?’ And he said, ‘Sure, Jay. And so here we are. But I have to do it so I can prove to myself that I can, but also to correct this s**t, because I need to feel super alive because I felt pretty close to dead. And I want to get back these joys that were removed from me by that f**king thing. It took away my taste buds. It took away my… This is all still numb. It’s f**king crazy, dude. And so now I appreciate every f**king minute. We both know tomorrow’s not guaranteed to nobody, but this is kind of a different kind of awareness now, different kind of reflection took place this last year and really put in check like never before. So I’m back to my touring weight. I lost a bunch, of course, as we went along, but I’m back to my touring weight. I’m back to my thing. I got a bunch of new songs. I got a killer band. I’m trying to feel as alive as possible. So that’s where I’m at with that.” he added.
Earlier this month, Jason Newsted also appeared on Dean Delray‘s “Let There Be Talk“ podcast to discuss the specific symptoms that led to his diagnosis. The musician is now focused on his return to the stage, utilizing his recent reflections to drive a new era of creativity and performance with his current musical projects.
When Dean Delray asked about the early warning signs that led to the discovery of the cancer, Jason revealed that his initial symptoms were incredibly subtle.
“I didn’t feel any different [before being diagnosed]. I had a little bit of an earache and a jaw ache. And my singing was being affected a tad bit. In February of last year, I was [hosting] my brother and his wife [at my home] here in Florida,” Jason explained at the time.
“They were visiting. And I felt [a lump on my neck], and then [my wife Nicole‘s] sitting next to me and she goes, ‘What is that?’ And I go, ‘Um, hmm.’ So I went in next week, got everything checked out,” he continued. “The doctor calls and says — instead of just telling you what’s up, he says, ‘You need to come in.’ That’s not good. And so I went in, and he dropped it. And I’m, like, ‘Who are you talking to? What, what, what? [I’m] Superman. F**k you. There’s no way, man. S**t bounces off me. What are you talking about? That’s not how it is.’ I expected [something like that to happen] maybe 20 years from now or something. But then I started thinking about it. And our accelerated lifestyle [when I was still in Metallica]. And what we were talking about before, with the big tours, you’re doing a couple of hundred 20 shows a year for a few years in a row, these type of things. Those touring years are dog years. Those are four or five into one, really, if you put the math down and the taxing on your cells and three flights a day and ‘expand, contract’ however many times. That kind of s**t, it’ll get you. So I was trying to reason — of course you’re always trying to f**king reason, like, ‘What’s that [about]?’ And I go, ‘Wait a minute. What about my boy, my boy, my boy, my boy, my boy, my boy?’ — all across, all our comrades. No needs to name drop. All those [other musicians] that are [at the same level or higher], homie hit it way harder than I ever would’ve hit it. He’s still f**king smoking. What? Me? Wait a second, man. What the f**k?’ And then they told me what it was, and they’re very easy to define. And that’s my advantage in this.”
He went on to urge fans to be vigilant about their health, noting how advancements in medical testing played a crucial role in catching his illness early.
“There’s 550 cancers that we deal with — there’s more than that, but it’s about how many that we deal with and a couple hundred that are really prevalent and a few that we can identify immediately and there doesn’t need to be any kind of biopsy, invasive anything. They can just tell from a blood test, this type of stuff. That’s what happened for me, fortunately. So they were able to tell just from that without any more trouble. But there’s no telling when it’s going to come. And I wanna be an advocate, of course, for everyone in awareness and things like that. It can happen to anybody,” he explained.
Newsted also candidly discussed the specific cause of his cancer, the human papillomavirus (HPV), and highlighted how prevalent the virus has become among his peers in the music industry.
“In our circles, from the ’80s, ’90s and up till now, the circles that you and I ran in and the circles that all our boys and our friends ran in, the human papillomavirus, HPV, has been in the humans for maybe a half a million years,” he continued. “And so we’ve been dealing with it at different levels at different times, but all of us, 100% of us, have been exposed to it, especially those of us that ran in rock circles and s**t like that. You can get it from [metal exposure], you can get it off a glass. It’s more unlikely, but it is possible. Usually your body just takes it in your immune system and you s**t it out, and you’re done. But it also can go dormant for a while, and then come back and it shows up. That’s what happened to me. So it’s from activity over years when you’re doing those kind of things. And [Iron Maiden‘s] Bruce Dickinson, [Megadeth‘s Dave] Mustaine, [Social Distortion‘s] Mike Ness, that whole goddamn bunch of us from that same bus have had it over the last 10 years. It’s the most prevalent cancer now for males over 40. So 70% of the things that are being reported right now is this tonsil-and-throat thing, back-of-the-tongue type of thing from HPV. So, females have been able to identify it for many decades — in a Pap smear, they can identify it. For only the last couple of years have we been able to identify it in males. We wouldn’t have known if we were passing it on to our partners, ’cause we certainly wouldn’t have if we knew, but there was no way for us to ever f**king know. Now they have a vaccine. Now you could be 12 to 45 years old to get a vaccine to protect you from it. I suggest everybody that has any kids, especially girls, get that, because in the boys, it goes [to the throat area], and the girls, it’s cervix. And so you just wanna make sure that if you can protect your kids, be aware of it. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that right there.”
With the hardest part behind him, the legendary bassist explained why he chose this specific moment to share his story with the public.
“I decided that this week, as I’m beginning to roll out the promotion for the shows and stuff and let everybody know I’m gonna be back around, and you already know it — you’re, probably, in the 24 people that I told. So, let’s see — in one week, it’s gonna be a year. So one week from today, it’ll be a year. May 8th of 2025, I underwent a procedure for throat cancer. And so they took a bunch of s**t outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s**t out. So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
The intense medical scare forced a massive lifestyle shift for the musician, resulting in a newfound sense of clarity and purpose.
“I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life. I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours. And there’s no way, with my arrogant, spoiled a** that I would’ve stopped smoking w**d, that I would’ve stopped drinking, that I would’ve stopped doing all the things. But the great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it. And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh,” he concluded.
Jason Newsted played with Metallica from 1986 until his departure in 2001. He was officially inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009 alongside Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and his successor, Robert Trujillo.
Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band 2026 North American Tour Dates:
- 01 Jul – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
- 02 Jul – Albany, NY – Empire Underground
- 03 Jul – Lititz, PA – Mickey’s Black Box
- 05 Jul – Wayne, PA – 118 North
- 06 Jul – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
- 09 Jul – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater*
- 10 Jul – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center*
- 11 Jul – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium*
- 12 Jul – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
- 15 Jul – Lewiston, NY – Artpark*
- 16 Jul – Utica, NY – Saranac Brewery*
- 17 Jul – Farmington, PA – Timber Rock Amphitheater*
- 18 Jul – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall*
- 20 Jul – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme
- 21 Jul – Newport, KY – Southgate House Revival
- 22 Jul – Knoxville, TN – Open Chord
- 24 Jul – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium*
- 25 Jul – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium*
*Supporting Blackberry Smoke
