Dave Mustaine Recalls Getting Advice From Bruce Dickinson Following Cancer Diagnosis

Following his June 2019 throat cancer diagnosis (he beat the disease that October), Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has explained how he reached out to Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson for his advice and perspective on the situation.

Bruce himself dealt with throat cancer in 2015, which Dave tells Forbes was obviously the main reason he wanted to approach him: "After I was diagnosed with it, I thought, 'I want to call Bruce,'" he remembers. "It's not like I have a whole Rolodex of rock friends that sing heavy metal music that have throat cancer (laughs), so my choices were limited."

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The thrash legend goes on to explain that he was "pretty proud" of the Iron Maiden leader after speaking with him.

"Although we're not super close, I consider [Bruce] to be someone I look up to," Dave says. "He basically told me the same thing I just told you: surround yourself with good, upbeat, positive people, places and things and try not to cause any unnecessary stress on yourself."

He continues: "When you're a frontman in one of the biggest bands in the galaxy, you don't really have to tolerate the frontmen of the other bands very much, but he's always been super kind to me and very, I don't want to say 'gentlemanly', because I don't want anyone to think that he's not a bad motherfucker!"

Dave also calls battling cancer "one of the gnarliest" challenges in his life: "Not to try and be glib about what was going on, because it certainly was serious stuff, but I stayed focused. I listened to the doctors, prayed a lot, took care of myself and had a great support group."

Catch Megadeth with Lamb Of God, Trivium and In Flames on The Metal Tour Of The Year at the following dates next year:

July 2021

9 Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
10 Mt. Pleasant, MI @ Soaring Eagle Casino
11 Toronto, ONT @ Budweiser Stage
13 Burgettstown, PA @ S&T Bank Music Park
14 Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion
16 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
17 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Pavilion
18 Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
20 Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
21 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach
23 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake PAC
24 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
26 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Paivlion
27 Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
28 Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
30 Laval, QC @ Place Bell
31 Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre

August 2021

3 Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
4 Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory
6 Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7 Kansas City, MO @ Spring Center
8 Rogers, AR @ Walmart Amp
10 St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
11 Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
12 Atlanta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
14 W. Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
18 Corpus Christi, TX @ American Bank Center Selena Auditorium
20 Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
21 Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
22 Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
24 El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center
25 Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
27 Denver, CO. @ Pepsi Center
29 Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre
31 Reno, NV @ Reno Events Center

September 2021

1 Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheater
2 Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
4 Portland, OR @ Moda Center
5 Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
7 Pocatello, ID @ Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre
8 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre

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