The past fourteen months have seen Quite Riot drummer Frankie Banali battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer.
The rocker first received the diagnosis after seeking treatment for shortness of breath, leg pain and lacking energy. The check-up led to doctors discovering a cancerous tumour had grown in his pancreas. Banali is currently undergoing his 21st round of chemotherapy.
In a new interview with Mike Brunn, Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo has delved into his friends battle with cancer. Banali and Sarzo have kept in close contact during Banali’s cancer battle. “We text every day, checking in with each other and seeing how we’re doing and sending our love,” Sarzos revealed.
Rudy Sarzo went on to praise Banali for his generous spirit and resilient nature.
“He’s a fighter. Oh my God… Frankie… Since 1972, we’ve been playing together, and he’s always been looking out for the band, for us,” he continued.
“You know what? I’ve never seen him in a situation where he just looks out for himself — never.
“As a matter of fact, still, as he’s fighting for his life, he’s still looking out after everybody — everybody close to him. That’s the way he is… He’s a fighter. He ain’t going down.”
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In an interview with SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, earlier this month Frankie Banali offered fans an update about his ongoing battle with the disease
“I’m still fighting the good fight,” he told host Eddie Trunk. “I’m still doing the chemotherapy, I switched to a different chemotherapy a few months ago. And the side effects on this one are pretty brutal, and they pretty much last into the next round of chemo. So you kind of don’t get a break for about three weeks, and then you get about maybe 10 days off, and then the cycle starts again. But it’s part of what I’m doing.”
