Elvis Costello has provided fans with a health update, just months after the veteran musician was reportedly diagnosed with cancer.
Back in July, Elvis Costello was forced to cancel a number of European dates following the discovery of a “small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy”.
In a statement released on his website, Costello revealed that he had undergone a surgery to remove the ‘malignancy’, but the recuperation period had interfered with his touring plans.
“I was elated and relieved that our European summer tour could go ahead,” Costello explained. “Post-surgical guidelines for such surgery, recommend three weeks to four weeks recovery depending on whether you are returning to a desk job or an occupation that involves physical work or travel.”
“It was impossible to judge how this advisory would line up with the demands on a traveling musician, playing 90-minute to 2-hour plus performances on a nightly basis but by the time we reached the Edinburgh Playhouse, I was almost fooled into thinking that normal service had been resumed.”
Now, in a recent television appearance, Elvis Costello has given his eager fans a highly-anticipated update on his health situation.
Speaking to CBS This Morning, Elvis Costello explained that his illness had been mistakenly referred to as ‘life-threatening’, and that the whole thing had been blown out of proportion.
“I’m great, I was extremely lucky to have this little thing found,” Costello explained of his health scare. “I was answering letters for three weeks, ‘No, I am not dying.’ But it’s not to make a joke of it because you don’t have to walk very far to find someone who is really having a fight [with cancer].”
This of course aligns with recent comments made by Elvis Costello, where he adamantly denied he ever had cancer. “I know that’s a very attractive headline to say I’ve got cancer, but it’s just not founded in fact,” he explained to The Daily Beast, dismissing reports that he was “in remission”.
“I’m not in remission because I didn’t have cancer,” he continued. “How could I be in remission? I was relieved of something that may have caused cancer. So out of respect to my friends who recently have lost that particular fight, and to those that continue to have it, of which I have rather too many, I’d rather everyone get the words right.”
In more positive news, Elvis Costello recently released his 30th album, Look Now, just last month. Featuring songs written with musical icons such as Carole King and Burt Bacharach, it’s his first record since 2013’s collaboration with The Roots, Wise Up Ghost.
Check out Elvis Costello & The Imposters’ ‘Suspect My Tears’:
