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Eddie Van Halen Doesn’t Have Cancer, Clinic Says
“Let me confirm that [Van Halen] does not have cancer and is not being treated for cancer,” hospital spokesperson Jane Brust told Pollstar.
The band’s official Web site confirmed that Van Halen had indeed visited the Center on Thursday, May 25, but said he was undergoing treatment to “prevent cancer” and gave no further information.
“There are definitely inaccurate reports flying around. Eddie Van Halen went through an evaluation, and after talking with doctors here he is planning on an outpatient clinical trial to prevent cancer,” Brust said.
Brust would not confirm if Van Halen had previously been diagnosed with cancer, or the nature of any “clinical trial to prevent cancer.”
She did add that “certainly people who are interested in a preventional trial would have a risk factor (for cancer).”
Van Halen, 43, is known to be a heavy smoker and recovering alcoholic – two factors cited as causing a dramatic increase of the risk of most oral cancers.
How all of this might affect the widely-rumored Van Halen reunion tour with original singer David Lee Roth later this year is yet to be determined.