The Chic legend – who was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago but was given the all-clear in 2014 – has revealed that while he received treatment for bacterial infection E.coli in Toronto, Canada, in August, doctors discovered a growth which turned out to be cancerous.
The ‘Le Freak’ hitmaker has since had the growth removed, and has revealed he was more “calm” this time round and chose to continue touring around the world, before heading straight to Brooklyn’s Strong Memorial Hospital to have the two cancer masses cut out.
Revealing the reasons for the cancellation of his Toronto show in a blog post, he explained: “During my brief stay in the hospital to treat E.coli, the doctors discovered a mysterious growth on my right kidney which looked like cancer.
“Well … it was CANCER! In fact, it was two different cancers within one mass.
“Unlike my reaction to my first Big-C diagnosis seven years ago, I was more relaxed, analytic and calm. I was surrounded by professionalism and empathy which gave me a surprising sense of inner peace.
“After the doctors told me, ‘We believe it’s cancer,’ I did a lot of gigging and a lot of flying: Two countries in South America, Dubai, Japan, Ireland, Liverpool, London and we ended our last round of this year’s gigs in Brooklyn, NY.
“Right after the show, I flew directly from Brooklyn, to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. The following day I had surgery to remove the carcinogenic mass – and my prognosis is 100% recovery. (You can start dancing, singing and cheering now!)”
The 65-year-old musician has had to put some “big plans” on hold work-wise for the rest of year, which he’s teased he’ll be speaking about in his next blog post “soon”.
He continued: “This situation has delayed some big plans for this year, but what will happen next year is beyond any of my wildest dreams. I’ll discuss that in my soon-to-be-released next blog.
“After the last seven years of amazing life, I would have never believed that my body would be invaded by another cancer. CANCER REALLY? I’m done. 2018 here I come!”
The ‘Get Lucky’ star concluded that the past two years have been horrific following the death of so many legendary stars, while he also revealed that his mother is suffering with Alzheimer’s.
Nile added: “One of my greatest artists, David Bowie, died at the top of 2016; a few months later, Prince passed away; and then George Michael died Christmas Day, 48 hours after I’d just worked on his film and worked on his last record.
“My friend, musician extraordinaire Chris Cornell, would die this past spring. My young 1st cousin dropped dead of a coronary with no prior warning … and my mother is currently suffering from Stage-VI Alzheimer’s. “