Toby Keith is giving an update on his health, one year after revealing he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. The 61-year-old says he is getting stronger, and feeling optimistic about his future.
“I’m feeling pretty good. … I’m about another eight weeks from my last scan,” Keith tells The Oklahoman (via Music Mayhem). “So, I expect next time I look for that tumor to be even less — and I’ve only got one that’s shown up. Basically, everything is in a real positive trend. You never know with cancer, so you have to prepare.”
Keith also hints that, after a year of staying largely away from performing, he might be ready to soon take the stage again.
“I feel better; I’ve got more wind. And I’m thinking about bringing the band in and setting up, playing two or three days somewhere just to see if I can get through two hours,” Keith says. “And if I do, (I’ll) be out on the road this fall.”
“All I got to do is see if I can get through two or three nights of work and get a little break in this chemo, and we’ll go back to work,” he adds. “I’m ready. That’s living.”
Keith is reportedly still receiving chemotherapy, along with undergoing immunotherapy, and working with a nutritionist, doing everything he can to get back to being healthy and strong.
“They put oxygen in your blood. They give you high doses of vitamin C and good vitamins and nutrient bag you up to where you feel better. And you can start trying to heal your body,” Keith says.
“Now, they’re trying to fight where the cancer backs up and says, ‘Oh, you’re fighting that tumor?'” he remarks. “‘We’re gonna remorph and turn into this kind of cancer.’ … So, while they (the cancer cells) are in the bullpen regrouping, we’re trying to kill ’em with something different.”
Keith recently hosted his 19th Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic, an annual event that raised a record $1.8 million. The money is part of a nearly $18 million collectively raised in support of OK Kids Korral.
“Next year, it’ll be the 10th year for OK Kids Korral, 20th year of my foundation party,” Keith shareds”We’re gonna celebrate a ten and a 20 [year], and we’re gonna blow it out. It’s amazing how much support we get. But it takes that kind of support to handle 300 families a year.”
Find updates to Keith’s touring schedule at TobyKeith.com.
Read ‘Toby Keith: 11 Things to Know About the Patriotic Singer’ here.