Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has revealed the solid advice a fellow heavy metal legend gave him during his cancer battle. Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer in February 2019, eventually being declared cancer-free the following October. Speaking exclusively in the new issue of Metal Hammer to promote his new book, In My Darkest Hour, the thrash metal hero reveals that none other than Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson gave him some inspiring words during his ordeal.
Dickinson himself was diagnosed with and later cleared from throat cancer a few years earlier, and offered Mustaine some useful thoughts on the matter. "Bruce had some fantastic stuff to say as a cancer survivor," Dave tells Hammer. "There's a big difference between someone saying, 'You're in my thoughts and prayers', versus somebody who goes into detail about his treatment and tells you about the outcome. I needed hope, and he gave me it."
Bruce's advice? A simple but effective mantra: "surround yourself with good people...make sure you're spending time with people who are upbeat and positive."
Mustaine made his cancer diagnosis public soon after receiving it himself - "to let the people who are my support system know", he explains - and it prompted an outpouring of well-wishes from many of his peers. Amongst the names to have sent him messages were Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Kiss man Paul Stanley and even his former Metallica colleague James Hetfield.
"It wasn't any more significant than the other people who gave their support to me," Mustaine notes of the messages. "I've always looked at that stuff like one beggar giving another beggar a crust of bread. But I appreciate it, because I know how our time is measured out, and to take the time to stop and do something like that means a lot."
Mustaine talks at length about his cancer battle in In My Darkest Hour, which hits shelves September 24 via Constable. Pick up the latest issue of Metal Hammer to read more from MegaDave, as well as exclusive new interviews with Motionless In White, Ghost, Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon and more.
