Celebrating a monumental victory in his ongoing health journey, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett has officially reached a decade of being completely cancer-free following a harrowing and complex battle with oral cancer.
Taking to social media on Monday, July 13, the veteran musician posted a series of photographs from his grueling treatment era alongside a deeply personal, unfiltered reflection on his fight for survival. He detailed the terrifying progression of his illness, his refusal to undergo a life-altering surgery, and the experimental immunotherapy trial that ultimately saved his life.
Rockett began: “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. 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). Then you have to wait another three months to see if it worked.”
“The side effects were insane. I lost 30% of my body weight. I could not eat solid food. My throat hurt 24/7, I was tired, my throat swelled, 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. After three months, I had gone from stage 3 to stage 4. The treatment didn’t work. I was offered a surgery to remove my tongue. Me being the bullheaded thing that I am, I refused and I was able to find a clinical trial using a new approach called, Immunotherapy. The trial was headed up by Dr. Ezra Cohen and Dr. Sandip Patel at Moores Cancer Center / UCSD in San Diego. These men became my life lines along with Tony Le who was my trial co-ordinator,” he continued.
Rockett went on to describe the nerve-wracking reality of the clinical trial for the drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), which brought incredible, rapid results that shocked both him and his medical team.
“It was an intense first week of tests. The plan was this: Infusion every three weeks, two pills a day and every nine weeks, MRI, PET and CT Scans. I was told not to freak out if the first scans showed tumors to be larger. Day one was seven hours in the hospital on infusions. Night one was scary. I stayed in San Diego. My tongue swelled and I thought I might choke. I called Dr. Cohen, he said, ‘This means it’s working!’ Nine weeks later I had my first clinical visit for scans. I was more nervous than ever in my life. If this modality didn’t work, it would be more chemo, more radiation eventually, probably surgery. [Rockett‘s then-girlfriend, now-wife] TC was by my side that day. She was ALWAYS by my side. The assistant looked at the scans and I asked slowly, ‘How do they look?’ She said, ‘Pretty good, actually!’ Dr. Cohen walked in just then and said, ‘This is near miraculous. Your tumors are 90% gone!’ Two weeks later I pilled my car over to spit. Spitting had become routine. Something not much different than an effect in Evil Dead landed on the ground. I called my Dr… ‘Dr. Cohen, I think I just spit out my tumor!'” he explained
However, his health hurdles did not end there. The drummer revealed that during the trial, he was diagnosed with a secondary, unrelated form of cancer, which forced a shift in his medical strategy.
“My trial was scheduled as a two year trial. It lasted nine months and I was declared cancer free just 18 weeks after I started. We stopped the trial because during the trial I developed another cancer, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). I was pulled off of immunotherapy and put on a medication called Gleevac. In two months my numbers dropped to almost zero cancer and finally after two years to zero cancer. From a pill! Dr. Jameison is still my anchor and she is a brilliant Dr. Thank God CML is one of the more mild things that you can get and I still take a daily pill to keep it away. It too is in remission.”
Reflecting on the sheer magnitude of surviving two simultaneous battles, Rockett expressed profound gratitude for the scientific advancements that allowed him to keep his life—and his voice.
“Folks, I beat two forms of cancer!” Rikki added. “I would walk through the infusion room and see people on a drug that was experimental for me, but now has become routine. I felt like I was part of something much, much bigger than I had ever been a part of. This very thing was an accomplishment, not just for the Dr.s, for me and my family, but honestly, for the world! I was one of the few that gifted that opportunity. I am not taking a bow, I am gracious for the chance. I was able to speak before crowds of Dr.s , scientists and people who wanted a new answer. This was bigger than anything I had ever done with Poison. I was part of something miraculous!”
Rockett concluded: “Today marks exactly 10 years cancer free. One day before my son’s birthday. We will celebrate together. All of this story is in my book coming out. It was tough to write.”
“Everyone, be careful. My cancer was caused by HPV and is the #1 cause of of this in people my age and younger. Same for women and cervical cancer.”
“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. Treat yourself and make yourself first and then you can come back and help others.”
“Have a blessed day.”
“Thank you to all my Doctors and forever to TC.”
The heavy metal icon has previously discussed the parallels between his diagnosis and the health scares of other musicians. During a 2020 appearance on Trunk Nation, Rockett pointed out that both Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson and Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine faced the exact same type of cancer.
“It was base of tongue with an associated lymph node, which is pretty common as far as head and neck cancers these days,” he revealed at the time. “HPV-related head and neck cancers usually are base of tongue. There’s a few people that I’ve sort of mentored or helped out, and many of ’em are musicians. And HPV is pretty rampant — it really is. If you have a kid, get ’em inoculated.”
