Sick Of It All Vocalist Lou Koller Will Learn if He’s Cancer-Free This May
It’s been a long road for New York hardcore band Sick of It All‘s vocalist Lou Koller. After getting diagnosed with esophageal cancer last June and learning it had spread to his stomach, people were worried for his prognosis. Yet after several rounds of chemotherapy and assistance from a team of medical professionals, it’s now seeming like he’ll (and we’ll) learn if he’s completely clear of cancer.
According to a video post on the band’s official Instagram page, Koller explained that he’s still dealing with the side effects of the chemo, but he sounded pretty optimistic. According to him, he’ll undergo a full-body scan in May to make sure he’s actually okay.
“ How you doing, everybody? A little update for you. I haven’t done one in a while because there’s really not much to tell. I’m in the healing stage, as they say. It’s about five or six weeks out from the chemo, my last chemo, and I’m doing pretty good, much better than last month. I feel a lot better than last month, but I’m still dealing with a lot of the side effects, as in my fingers are still numb, my feet are numb, my taste buds don’t work right. I think now I can taste salty stuff and really bitter things. Everything else is bland. Other than that, I’m trying to gain weight. I’m down 30 pounds. That’s not good for me. I’ve been trying to gain it, but with my new stomach shape, and it’s still healing, it’s going really slow. I’m not really gaining weight, but I’m trying. I thought that would be the easiest part — just stuff your face. But I can’t.
“Anyway, other than that, I’m doing pretty good. I’m still sleeping a lot. Trying to break that. Trying to get my energy up. All those things are good.
“No word yet from the doctors. I get the full scan in May to find out if I’m completely cancer free. So we will see.
“Thank you for all the support again, and all your messages,” he added. “It’s good to hear from everybody and hopefully soon, soon I’ll have some good news for you. Other than that, the band’s doing okay. Everybody’s doing their own thing. Trying to stay alive. Pete’s [Koller, Sick Of It All guitarist and Lou’s brother] been writing a lot of music. We’re gonna get together during the spring and summertime to try to hammer out some new songs. I have to try to sing too, which I might be trying this weekend.
“Anyway, thank you very much, and good to see all of you and hear from you. And take care.”
