# Megadeth's Dave Mustaine has throat cancer
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 17, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653 "2019-06-17T20:28:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/1 "2019-06-17T20:28:45Z")
His doctors say the planned treatment has a 90% success rate.
> **[Megadeth's Dave Mustaine says he has throat cancer | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/17/entertainment/megadeth-dave-mustaine-throat-cancer-trnd/index.html)**
>
> Vocalist and guitarist of the band Megadeth, Dave Mustaine, said in a Facebook post that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/2 "2019-06-17T20:55:29Z")
I’m surprised the guy’s still alive.
I read his autobiography a while back, and while my speculation about it was incorrect (that it would make Motley Crue’s “The Dirt” look like the McGuffey Reader; THAT turned out to be the other way around) he’s had a terrible life, and admits it.
p.s. There’s been a similar rumor about Neil Peart for over 30 years. AFAIK, that’s never been the case either.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/3 "2019-06-17T21:01:44Z")
I had a friend relay the tweet to me this morning. I replied “Fuck cancer.”
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/4 "2019-06-17T22:27:13Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> I read his autobiography a while back, and while my speculation about it was incorrect (that it would make Motley Crue’s “The Dirt” look like the McGuffey Reader; THAT turned out to be the other way around) he’s had a terrible life, and admits it.
Care to share some details? I believe(though this is from memory…) that he was kicked out of Metallica for being a drunk jerk they couldn’t stand. I thought he cleaned up his:
1. Drinking
2. Jerk behavior
and kind of became workable again. I thought Metallica even agreed to tour with Megadeth at some point, kind of putting it all behind them. There were rumors at one point he even became a Christian and really set on cleaning things up. No?
I do remember that he lost use of his arm at one point and had to work to get it back.
What else happened? Or did he never stop drinking?
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/5 "2019-06-17T22:30:39Z")
Heroin happened. A lot of it. I highly recommend reading that book. No matter how much success he achieved, he was always bitter about the Metallica thing.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/6 "2019-06-17T22:58:17Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#):
>
> Heroin happened. A lot of it. I highly recommend reading that book. No matter how much success he achieved, he was always bitter about the Metallica thing.
Did he record an audio book version?
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/7 "2019-06-17T23:16:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> Did he record an audio book version?
I dunno.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/8 "2019-06-17T23:38:31Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> I’m surprised the guy’s still alive.
>
> I read his autobiography a while back, and while my speculation about it was incorrect (that it would make Motley Crue’s “The Dirt” look like the McGuffey Reader; THAT turned out to be the other way around) he’s had a terrible life, and admits it.
>
> p.s. There’s been a similar rumor about Neil Peart for over 30 years. AFAIK, that’s never been the case either.
If you liked the Dirt, then read the heroin diaries. That shit was really interesting.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/9 "2019-06-18T01:32:32Z")
Sounds like the same cancer I had. HPV-16 caused throat cancer. I also had a super high treatment success rate. It was no fun while I was being treated and recovered but I’m fine now.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/10 "2019-06-18T05:03:51Z")
Several years ago, “60 Minutes” did a piece about a poverty-stricken Paraguayan community where the kids made serviceable musical instruments out of garbage, and a documentary was made about them called “Landfillharmonic.”
[http://www.landfillharmonicmovie.com/](http://www.landfillharmonicmovie.com/)
Megadeth is, or was, a very popular band in that region, and when they found out about this, they not only subsidized part of the film, they also flew to Paraguay and appeared in it, and even brought the orchestra to the U.S. and did some shows with them.
> **[Landfill Harmonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill_Harmonic)**
>
> Landfill Harmonic (stylized as landfillharmonic) is a 2015 documentary film directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley. It stars and tells the story of Paraguayan music teacher Favio Chavez and his Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a children's orchestra in Paraguay which performs with materials recycled from a trash landfill near Asunción. According to The Huffington Post, "\[t\]he film is both an exposé on the harsh conditions of slum life and a commentary on the global threats of consumption a Th...
> **[Landfill Harmonic (2015) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3304524/)**
>
> Landfill Harmonic: Directed by Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley, Juliana Penaranda-Loftus. Landfill Harmonic follows the Recycled Orchestra. An unlikely orchestra made out of recycled trash. As this group takes its inspiring spectacle of...
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### Author:  [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/11 "2019-06-18T12:19:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> Care to share some details? I believe(though this is from memory…) that he was kicked out of Metallica for being a drunk jerk they couldn’t stand.
He was a heroin addict. Indeed some of Megadeth were also heroin addicts at different times.
> [@](#):
>
> I thought Metallica even agreed to tour with Megadeth at some point, kind of putting it all behind them.
They toured together in 1993. They also were part of the a Metallica/Megadeth/Anthrax/Slayer tour in 2010.
> [@](#):
>
> There were rumors at one point he even became a Christian and really set on cleaning things up. No?
He became Christian. Well, sort of always was, but became born again. I don’t think it affects his music that much apart from refusing to play alongside the satanic supporting bands.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/12 "2019-06-18T12:56:17Z")
> [@Smid](#):
>
> He became Christian. Well, sort of always was, but became born again. I don’t think it affects his music that much apart from refusing to play alongside the satanic supporting bands.
I know at least one guy in Slayer is actually Catholic and the whole “satan” thing is a joke or branding thing, but if he toured with Slayer, he certainly doesn’t mind Satanic type stuff. Don’t they sing Satanic songs? I know they have some anti-God/anti-Jesus titles and covers or something.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/13 "2019-06-18T15:03:06Z")
> [@Smid](#):
>
> They toured together in 1993. They also were part of the a Metallica/Megadeth/Anthrax/Slayer tour in 2010.
Holy crapballs that’s a helluva lineup.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/14 "2019-06-18T15:15:31Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> I know at least one guy in Slayer is actually Catholic and the whole “satan” thing is a joke or branding thing, but if he toured with Slayer, he certainly doesn’t mind Satanic type stuff. Don’t they sing Satanic songs? I know they have some anti-God/anti-Jesus titles and covers or something.
Slayer doesn’t sing “satanic” songs; they do sing a lot about how religions have some fucked up tenets and get people to do fucked up things. Yes, mostly they focus on Christianity; it’s the dominant religion in the society in which they live.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/15 "2019-06-30T21:39:48Z")
[Dave says thank you.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUZQY7Nqr0U)
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megadeths-dave-mustaine-has-throat-cancer/835653/16 "2019-06-30T22:04:33Z")
[Dave says thank you.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUZQY7Nqr0U)