RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's TIM COMMERFORD On His Prostate Cancer Battle:  "I'm The Strongest I've Ever Been In My Life'

In a new interview with Neil Jones from TotalRock, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE bassist Tim Commerford, who is promoting his group 7D7D, spoke about his nearly three-year battle with prostate cancer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I'm the strongest I've ever been in my life. And I'm 56 years old. And I'm artistic, and I'm focused on that, and I'm proud of it. And I've always been very proud of being fit as an older person, because most people that are my age are not; that's the truth of it. And I feel really good about that.

"I was broken when I found out I had cancer," he admitted. "It took me a couple of years before I could even discuss cancer without just getting emotional, crying about it. But what brought me over the edge with that and made me not have to cry all the time was the physicality of, like, 'Yo, yeah, I'm sick.' Like, I have a cadaver hamstring tendon that's in my shoulder that the doctor's, like, 'Well, your shoulder is only gonna be 75 percent as strong on the left as it is on the right.' And I'm, like, well, then if I get 200 percent stronger than I would have gotten, then I'll be 125 percent stronger."

Saying that he got his prostate removed, Tim explained that he hopes to inspire action and empower others in the fight against prostate cancer.

"I tell people, like, look, if your number, your PSA number, which is what it's called, if that number is going up, if your doctor says your PSA is rising a little, get an expert, go to an expert," he said. "At that point in time, find someone that knows everything about it that's an expert in prostate cancer that does it. That's what I didn't do. And mine I found out about through health insurance. I had to do a health insurance test, and they found it early. And I went to a doctor, and she watched it rise, and then finally went, 'Oh, now it's up to this point. You need to have surgery. You have cancer.' 'What?' 'Oh yeah. We have to remove your prostate.' 'Really?' 'Oh yeah. And your cancer got out of your prostate a little tiny bit. So that means it escaped into my body.' When they normally capture it, it's in the capsule. They take the prostate, it takes the cancer."

Tim continued: "It's very important that, like, if your doctor sticks his fucking finger in your ass and goes, like my doctor said, I'll never forget, 'Well, your prostate is kind of generous.' That was his words. 'Generous.' And I remember going, like, 'That's a little weird,' but not worrying about it, because he said, 'Well, there's a lot of men that have that. And you ride your bike a lot.' And it didn't send a red alert that it should have and that any person, especially a man, any man, if you get any of that, like you have a generous prostate or your PSA numbers a little elevated, go to an expert right then. And there's things I could have done. Had I been at an expert earlier on, they would have done an MRI and they would have then seen the location of the cancer and then I would have been able to take it out in the capsule, and I'd be better off."

Two years ago, Commerford told SPIN that he first found out about his cancer when he tried to register for life insurance and failed to qualify due to high numbers in his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening. A biopsy confirmed the cancer and his medical team extracted his prostate before RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE reunited for its tour in July 2022.

Earlier this year, Commerford told Rolling Stone magazine about his cancer battle: "I call myself Cancer Man. I'm in the best shape of my life. The cancer will never be gone though. It's always going to be there. When you have prostate cancer, they test your PSA level. I'm at a zero right now. But I get tested every three months… This is a different life now. It changed who I am, and in a lot of ways for the better. It slowed me down. It made me just take my time a little bit more on just noticing the world."

Although prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer found in men and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, it can also be one of the most treatable forms of cancer.

If elevated PSA is identified early, there are treatment options that have been shown to extend survival. It is important for men to be informed about different treatment options and their side effect profile so that they can have educated treatment conversations with their doctor.

On average, approximately one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

Joining Commerford in 7D7D are Mathias Wakrat and Jonny Polonsky.

Raised in Irvine, California, Tim learned the bass and began to channel a tough childhood into music. By the time he was in his early 20s, he was in RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Tim was also in AUDIOSLAVE (where he met Jonny) and PROPHETS OF RAGE.

Image credit: Ernie Ball