• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • ABOUT US
  • MEDIA
  • PRIVACY
  • TERMS
  • DMCA
  • CONTACT US
  • AUTHORS
do you remember

DoYouRemember?

The Home of Nostalgia

  • Celebrity News
    • Family
    • Obituaries
    • Life Behind the Fame
    • ICONS
    • Celebrity Feuds
  • Entertainment
    • Cast
    • Showbiz Rewind
    • Music
    • Beauty & fashion
  • STORIES
  • Celebrity Buzz!?
  • Sitcoms
    • Bewitched
    • Little Rascals
    • The Partridge Family
    • I Dream of Jeannie
    • All in the Family
    • MASH
    • Happy Days
    • Cheers
  • Celebrity Collections
  • SHOP DYR
    • DYR Book

Stories

Rolling Stones Guitarist Ronnie Wood Wanted To Handle Cancer Scares “On My Own Terms”

by Dana Daly

Published September 21, 2021

Wood chose to navigate his cancer battles privately, with support from his wife

Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, faced multiple cancer diagnoses over the years, and subsequent treatment. The extent of some of this ongoing battle surprised even his loved ones, though, as Wood has adamantly acted under the policy of navigating all this his way.

In 2017, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Treatment helped him overcome this battle, but 2019 brought yet another cancer fight, this one more draining. It was this more recent small-cell cancer diagnosis that brought attention both to his health and Wood’s private approach to it.

Related:

  1. Rolling Stones Member Ronnie Wood Shares Second Battle With Cancer
  2. Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood Pays Tribute To Late Bandmate Charlie Watts On Anniversary Of His Death

Ronnie Wood fought his cancer battles in private

Ronnie Wood
London.UK. Ronnie Wood at 40th Brit Awards Red Carpet arrivals, The O2 Arena, London. 19th February 2020. Ref:LMK73-S2890-190220 Keith Mayhew/Landmark Media WWW.LMKMEDIA.COM / ImageCollect

Wood recalled after his 2019 diagnosis, “I had to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy.” It was proving more debilitating and dangerous than 2017; this next bout he described as “much worse and more devious.” Wood added, though, that “was under the radar of the Covid lockdown thing.”

RELATED: Rolling Stones Member Ronnie Wood Shares Second Battle With Cancer

When possible, Wood stayed in the English countryside walking and painting. When news broke of his health scare, Wood’s loved ones were surprised. But, he stressed, “I had the space to handle it on my own terms rather than it being a public thing.”

Getting to that destination on the path he chose

Wood hopes to resume touring this autumn
Wood hopes to resume touring this autumn / Wikimedia Commons

Among those kept in the dark, Wood’s choice did have an impact. “Lots of people say to me, ‘You didn’t tell me. I would have helped you,’” he recalled. “And I’d say, ‘I didn’t want to bother anyone. I just wanted to handle this on my own and come through it on my own.’”

Now, things seem to have taken a turn for the better. Thanks to “great help of [my wife] Sally,” Wood has “got the all-clear now and that’s a big buzz. Now hopefully we’re coming out of the lockdown, I’m coming out of my shell, I’m gradually getting a bit more strength and stuff, and I’ll be ready to tour.” Earlier this summer, Wood took to Twitter to share he couldn’t wait to “get back on the road” with the Stones in autumn. Circumstances permitting, they would hit several major cities from September to the end of November.

Wishing a steady recovery to Ronnie Wood!

Next up: The Big Family Secret Surrounding Karen Carpenter’s Eating Disorder
Previous article: The Big Family Secret Surrounding Karen Carpenter’s Eating Disorder
Next Post: Elvis Presley’s Ex Linda Thompson Compares Him To A ‘Greek God’

Primary Sidebar

© 2025 DoYouRemember? Inc.

  • about us
  • media
  • privacy
  • terms
  • DMCA
  • CONTACT US
  • AUTHORS