AGNOSTIC FRONT's ROGER MIRET: 'I Didn't Wanna Talk To Nobody' After Being Diagnosed With Cancer

In a new interview with Aftershocks TV, AGNOSTIC FRONT vocalist Roger Miret, who was diagnosed with cancer more than three years ago, was asked if he has given any advice to SICK OF IT ALL frontman Lou Koller who recently underwent surgery to treat an esophageal tumor. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I talked to Lou very briefly, and I understand, and I told him, 'Hey, look, I'm here for you. I'm here if you wanna talk about anything.'

"Some people approach things differently, and myself, I chose to really… It's really weird when you hear those news," Roger explained. "I reintroverted myself. I didn't wanna talk to nobody. I didn't wanna talk to nobody. I just wanted to be by myself with all my thoughts. And, of course, all that GoFundMe stuff [that was started to help me with medical bills], I was very grateful for all that stuff, but still I was fighting all this stuff. And I didn't want people to see me and tubes hanging out of me and stuff like that. And it's just weird. It's just like I needed to be by myself again and recapture all my thoughts. And I think he's going through a little bit of that. He's trying to touch base here and there to let people know he's doing good. I know the outcry from people that love him has been humongous — the same for myself. So we're in good places."

Roger added: "There's a lot of love and support for people like myself, like Lou, New York hardcore and stuff like that. So, all I can say is don't ever get discouraged, if someone's going through that stuff and they don't wanna talk to you or whatever. Some people just need their space, their time. I was so grateful to go back out and tour. I mean, I would talk about it and I would go to tears. Seriously, I'd break down. That's how emotionally of a content it is. So I get it. So, let them do what they gotta do. And hopefully it all works out for Lou. I think if it is, hopefully he could get back out there and do his thing. That's where he'd rather be. I knew that's where I'd rather be."

After Miret was diagnosed with cancer in early 2021, a long road of tests and diagnoses led to a complex initial surgery and lengthy hospital stay. Even though the original surgery was complicated, the results were extremely positive. The cancer was successfully removed and Roger is now in complete remission and all signs of cancer have disappeared.

In October 2021, Roger said that he underwent another surgery after "running a fever for two weeks straight" and developing "an infection."

A GoFundMe page was launched where fans can still donate to help Roger pay medical care costs.

Roger previously discussed his cancer battle during a February 2022 appearance on the "Smokin Word" podcast. He said at the time: "I'm good now. But I was in a place [in early 2021] where I just needed to be in my own head — just wrap around everything. Between everything that's going on in life, and then throw this shit at it, I was not in a good place. But, man, I sit back and think about it now, I've been through a lot of shit — I've been through a lot of hard shit — and I'm, like, man, I keep going through all this fucking crazy hard shit, but my head's pretty together. Don't get me wrong — there's a lot of nights you stay up thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking. When you hear 'cancer,' the first thing you think is you're gonna die tomorrow. And you've got kids, and you start thinking and thinking, thinking about, 'Man, somehow, some way I'll pull through.' I figured I've gotta pull through. And that was the same situation back in the late '80s when I got incarcerated. I was, like, you pull through — you hold your head up high and pull through. Even back then, in the late '80s, when I had to go through incarceration, it was good for me to be by myself; I needed to… [This time] I didn't wanna see nobody, I didn't wanna talk to nobody. I did a lot of walks by myself. I did a lot of self-isolation. And when everything got finally put out there, I'm grateful that a lot of people gave me my space. 'Cause I know a lot of people worldwide, and everybody was concerned, everybody's, like, 'What's happening?' And I get it, but I really didn't wanna talk about anything; I just wanted to be in my space. The only person I talked to were doctors — so many fucking doctors; so many fucking injections, surgeries, scans. I've got more poison in my body… I'm actually surprised I'm walking."

Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the U.S. to escape the Castro regime. He joined AGNOSTIC FRONT in 1983, and the seminal New York harcore group released classics like "United Blood", "Victim In Pain" and "Cause For Alarm" over the next several years.

In 2017, Miret released a memoir, "My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts, And Glory", which documented his struggles to adapt to life in the U.S. after his family fled the Castro regime. According to the Phoenix New Times, the book delved into many facets of Miret's life: the grinding poverty of his childhood; living as a teenager squatter; becoming deeply enmeshed in downtown New York’s hardcore scene; and later turning to drug-running to support his family.

In addition to fronting AGNOSTIC FRONT, Miret has also played with ROGER MIRET AND THE DISASTERS and is a member of THE ALLIGATORS.

For the past several years, Roger has resided in Scottsdale, Arizona.