Mark Hoppus is in the midst of treatment for his cancer, which he shared with the world back in June. While the Blink-182 leader has spoken about how he’s doing on occasion since then, he hadn’t come out and directly said what type of cancer he has. In a recent Q&A session with Chilean fans, though (as Rolling Stone notes), he got more specific, declaring that he has been diagnosed with “diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.”
He continued, “My classification is stage IV-A, which means, as I understand it, it’s entered four parts of my body. I don’t know how exactly they determine the four part of it, but it’s entered enough parts of my body that I’m stage IV, which I think is the highest that it goes. So, I’m stage IV-A. […] The cancer isn’t bone-related, it’s blood-related. My blood’s trying to kill me.”
The Lymphoma Research Foundation says of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, “DLBCL is an aggressive (fast-growing) lymphoma that can arise in lymph nodes or outside of the lymphatic system, in the gastrointestinal tract, testes, thyroid, skin, breast, bone, or brain. Often, the first sign of DLBCL is a painless, rapid swelling in the neck, underarms, or groin that is caused by enlarged lymph nodes. For some patients, the swelling may be painful. Other symptoms may include night sweats, fever, and unexplained weight loss. Patients may notice fatigue, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, or pain.”
During the Q&A, Hoppus revealed he had a big medical appointment on the horizon at the time, saying, “Tomorrow’s test is to find out if my chemotherapy is working at all. If it is, I go back for at least three more rounds. Ideally, I go in tomorrow and they say, ‘Congratulations, your chemotherapy has worked and you’re all done and you’ll never have to think about this cancer again for the rest of your life.’”
Watch the Q&A above.
Blink-182 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.