The “Kryptonite” singer announces he has clear cell renal carcinoma, and the band will be canceling their tour
Three Doors Down singer Brad Arnold has announced he has stage 4 kidney cancer that has spread to his lungs — but says he has “no fear.”
The rock band and Arnold, 46, posted a shared update on their Instagram accounts on May 7, announcing that he had “some not so good news for you today. And, so, I’ve been sick a couple of weeks ago and then went to the hospital and got checked out.”
That’s when the “Kryptonite” singer says he “got the diagnosis that I had clear cell renal carcinoma that had metastasized into my lung. And that’s stage 4, and that’s not real good.”
Clear cell renal carcinoma gets its name from how the cancer cells appear under a microscope, the National Cancer Institute explains. It makes up about 80% of kidney cancer cases in adults. Treatment includes surgery, immunotherapy, and other targeted therapies like radiation.
The five-year survival rate for clear cell renal carcinoma is up to 69% when it’s caught early, but as the NCI explains, once it’s spread elsewhere, “treatment is more difficult and the 5-year survival rate is about 10%.”
But as Arnold shared, he’s relying on his faith to get through treatment. “We serve a mighty God, and He can overcome anything. So I have no fear. I really, sincerely am not scared of it at all, but it is going to force us to cancel our tour this summer and we’re sorry for that.”
He ended with a plea for fans to “lift me up in prayer every chance you get and like, it’s time for me to go listen to ‘Not My Time’ a little bit, right?”, a reference to the band’s 2008 Billboard Top 20 hit, which includes the lyrics “This could be the end of me / And everything I know / But it’s not my time, I’m not going.”
“Thank you guys so much. God loves you. We love you,” he ended his post, which was flooded with well wishes from fellow musicians like Scott Stapp, who wrote, “If anyone has the FAITH and STRENGTH to face this fight, it’s YOU brother.”
Chris Daughtry also commented, writing, “Sending you love my brother🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜”
And Jason Aldean wrote, “Man I hate to hear that Brad. Praying for ya brother. 🙏🏼”