Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood revealed his battle with lung cancer recently, and has now shared more about the time surrounding his diagnosis and treatment earlier this year.
"I smoked heavily for 50 years, and I thought, there's got to be some price to pay," he told The Guardian. "I hadn't had a chest x-ray for 16 years, and when I did, sure enough, there was a big shadow there on my lung, a supernova. I thought, 'F**king hell!'"
Upon revealing his diagnosis a few weeks ago, Ronnie urged people to "get checked", as it was only the fact that his cancer was caught early during a check up for the upcoming Rolling Stones tour that resulted in his successful, chemotherapy-free treatment.
"I definitely went in there with a positive attitude," he said. "I thought, right, I've got cancer, let's get it out."
The musician ultimately ended up undergoing a five-hour operation which resulted in the removal of part of his lung.
"The doctors were really surprised – because I came out the next week and I was back in the studio," he added.
"You're not supposed to get better that quickly. A lot of it was celebration in the fact that I was still alive, that it hadn't spread. There was so much gratitude in the air."
After undergoing treatment, Ronnie has said he's doing "OK" but he shared that the experience has left him feeling vulnerable, especially considering the recent deaths of many people from the music industry, including David Bowie, who died after his own battle with cancer.
"It especially affected me with Bowie because we were the same age – both 1947 models," Ronnie said. "David and I, we never saw a lot of each other, but when we did, we had a lot in common.
"With the cancer, he pulled the short straw. I knew he had a stroke as well. Since he hadn't been doing concerts or public appearances, I knew something fishy was going on with his health. I knew something was up.
"I was lucky, I got the long straw with the cancer."
He continued to say that the whole experience has left him even more grateful for what he has in life, particularly after the arrival of his and wife Sally's new twin baby girls last year.
"With these little twin girls in my life, it just really makes you want to be around longer to watch them grow," he said.
"Having that second chance, it's made me even more grateful to enjoy the twins, enjoy the kids I already have, enjoy Sally, enjoy going back on the road, all of it."
