The Cure’s Roger O’Donnell Diagnosed with ‘Rare’ Form of Lymphoma

The Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell is opening up about his cancer diagnosis.

On Sunday, Sept. 1, the musician, 68, shared a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) in honor of Blood Cancer Awareness Month in the U.K. He revealed that he had been diagnosed with “a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma,” and recounted his journey so far with the disease and treatment.

“I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went and after surgery the result of the biopsy was devastating,” O’Donnell began, recalling the first exam that led to his diagnosis.

“I’ve now completed 11 months of treatment under some of the finest specialists in the world and with second opinions and advice from the teams that had developed the drugs I was being given,” O’Donnell continued underneath a black-and-white photo of himself and his partner, Mimi.

“I had the benefit of the latest sci fi immunotherapy and some drugs that were first used 100 years ago,” said the musician, who joined The Cure in 1987. “The last phase of treatment was radiotherapy, which also was one of the first treatments developed against cancer.”

O’Donnell added that since his treatment began last fall, he is doing “fine and the prognosis is amazing.”

“The mad axe murderer knocked on the door and we didn’t answer,” he joked, before taking the opportunity to urge those experiencing symptoms to seek out treatment as soon as possible. “Cancer CAN be beaten but if you are diagnosed early enough you stand a way better chance, so all I have to say is go GET TESTED, if you have the faintest thought you may have symptoms go and get checked out.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, lymphoma is cancer of the lymphatic system, which is a system in the body that allows it to fight germs and diseases. The cancer occurs when healthy cells change and grow out of control.

The clinic states that lymphoma — and its various forms, such as Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma — can have many different symptoms including: fevers, night sweats, fatigue, itchy skin, painless swelling of lymph nodes in the stomach, neck, armpits or groin, chest pain, pain in the abdomen or bones, or weight loss.

On Instagram, the keyboardist shared another black-and-white photo of himself with short hair, crediting his partner for the snap and writing in the caption: “The hair isn’t out of choice hahahah.”

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Last year, The Cure announced that O’Donnell would not be joining the band for the Latin American leg of its Shows of a Lost World tour due to unspecified health reasons. The group wrote on social media at the time that they were “wishing him the speediest of recoveries.”

O’Donnell isn’t the first member of the British rock group to be diagnosed with cancer. In February 2019, the band’s former drummer Andy Anderson died at the age of 68, one week after revealing on Facebook that he had terminal cancer, per Rolling Stone.

O’Donnell concluded his lengthy X thread with a request for his followers to speak up for anyone who may be suffering from the symptoms of blood cancer.

“If you know someone who is ill or suffering, talk to them. Every single word helps — believe me I know,” he wrote. “I would also like to thank my [doctors], rockstars, every one of them, all the nurses and technicians, my friends, family and Mimi. Sometimes it’s harder to be on the other side of this.”