Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has revealed that his wife, Jennifer Lei Li Keenan, is in the midst of a battle with breast cancer.

Taking to Instagram, Maynard James Keenan shared a heartfelt birthday post dedicated to his wife, that shed light on her cancer diagnosis. Keenan revealed that Jennifer first discovered a lump in her breast in November 2020, and was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer on Christmas Eve.

“Today is my wife’s Birthday. @licoricelust I’m going to guess that it will be viewed as her favorite. In late Nov she felt a lump in her breast. On X-mas eve, she was diagnosed with cancer. She didn’t collapse into a pile of self-pity. She didn’t launch into an entitlement rage.

“She didn’t act out in any self-destructive manner. Instead, she asked the right questions, listened to her doctors, made a plan, and stuck to it,” Keenan wrote.

“And when there were things she couldn’t do on her own, she asked for help. Before the chemo could take her hair, she cut it all off and had our friend Brooke make her a wig to match,” he continued. “And then she went to work. No one was the wiser. She’s successfully navigated both the chemo and the surgery and now begins the radiation.

“And all without whining or bitching. She is my rock. She is my muse. She is my ALL. Be like Jen. Happy Birthday, My Love. Cheers to this one and many more.”

Jennifer and Maynard work together across multiple projects. She is the lab manager of the singer’s Caduceus Cellars winery and a product developer for his side-project Puscifer. The couple have one daughter together, Lei Li Agostina Maria, born in 2014.

Love Classic Rock?

Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine