The Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell has revealed he has been diagnosed with lymphoma and has undergone successful treatment.
Roger O’Donnell in Miami, July 1, 2023.
Robert Bell/INSTARimages
The musician took to X/Twitter on September 1, for Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and revealed that he was recently diagnosed with lymphoma – a type of blood cancer.
“In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma,” he explained. “I ignored the symptoms for a few months but eventually sought medical attention and after surgery the biopsy result was devastating. I have now completed 11 months of treatment under some of the best specialists in the world, with second opinions and advice from the teams who developed the drugs I was given.”
In a more reassuring tone, he continued: “I have benefited from the latest science fiction immunotherapies and drugs first used 100 years ago. The last phase of treatment was radiotherapy, which was also one of the first treatments developed against cancer. I am well and the prognosis is excellent.”
He then urged people to “get screened” as early detection of cancer was key to winning his fight against the disease.
Roger O’Donnell toured with The Cure from May to September 2023. He joined the band in 1987 as a touring keyboardist, before being asked to join in full by frontman Robert Smith.
The Cure are set to release live recordings of two new, previously unreleased songs, “And Nothing Is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” on environmentally friendly vinyl.
