IRON MAIDEN- 2021 Photo copyright by JOHN McMURTRIE
In a bit of a revelation, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain battled stage 1 laryngeal cancer in 2020, only divulging details now, after giving only one interview on the matter in 2021. McBrain, 70, was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing an endoscopy at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University Of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine. Having surgery one week later to remove the tumor, he now gets check-ups every few months. In an interview with the University Of Miami Health System website, which spoke to Nicko about his cancer battle last year, the drummer gave an accounting of how he discovered his illness.
“When I play drums with the band, I actually sort of scream and yell while I play, like a Judo guy slapping the mat,” McBrain said. “[But] when you are lying down in a quiet room and you speak and hear your voice in your head and have a cold, you sound different. This happened to me. I thought this is very reminiscent — this different sounding voice of mine — to when I finish a tour or after a show. I didn’t have a cold or any symptoms of illness at all. I started to feel that I was clearing my throat more when I was in conversations. So, I just took it on myself to call my doctor.”