Mikey Cox shared an optimistic message to fans following his recent cancer-related surgery, saying in a few months he may be able to return to “full steam.” According to Blabbermouth, the Coal Chamber drummer was diagnosed with stage three cancer in April of last year. He originally wanted to keep the news private, only sharing with his close friends and family. 

“Once we found out, I didn’t wanna put it on social media, I didn’t wanna worry too many people,” Cox shared on the “We Were Loud Podcast” last month. “I keep my circle very small, with my family, and I’m pretty private. If I didn’t have Coal Chamber, I probably wouldn’t have social media at all, ’cause I just think it’s the death of humanity. Everybody has an opinion. So, we kept it small until we knew more facts.” 

The drummer also shared some details about the cancer, noting that it was localized and treatable. However, the treatment itself was a long and arduous process. 

“I did five weeks of radiation, which, by the end of it, was pure hell,” he said. “I was down to 152 pounds. I could barely walk. It was brutal. They gave me the highest dose of radiation the body could take. So we treated it really aggressively because I had a bigger tumor, so we wanted to shrink it down. And then I did five months of chemo through a PICC [Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter] line in my arm. So I had to go sit in the chemo chair for three hours a couple of times every other week. I did that for five months, I believe. And then it shrunk the tumor down to about a half inch. So that was exactly what they said was gonna happen, and I was able to have surgery. So I went in and had a five-and-a-half-hour surgery. This was in January. I had a five-and-a-half-hour surgery, and they cut out the rest of the cancer. Then we had to wait for the test to come back, and the test came back and they said they got all of it; all the margins were good. So, as of right now, I’m cancer-free, but I do need to have another surgery in the next month to put the rest of my insides back together, ’cause right now I have things that are rerouted. They’re gonna reroute everything back to normal in January, and hopefully that’s the last surgery. But right now I’m dealing with a lot of the side effects from cancer. Like, my feet are numb all the time, and my hands and my joints and all that stuff. So the last two shows we just played were an adventure. We just played a couple of weekends ago. So it’s a little harder to play. My energy level’s still not where it used to be, ’cause I play semi-crazy. So, we’re getting there slowly, and every show gets better. And, yeah, that’s basically where we’re at with the whole thing.”

The upcoming surgery he referred to on the podcast occurred last Friday, and, by Cox’s own account, all seems to have gone well. The drummer shared a video of him taking his first steps since surgery with a walker outside his hospital room, the day after the operation, where he spoke to his audience directly. 

“I’m in a ridiculous amount of pain and I have a massive hole in my stomach that will act as a drain and heal itself,” he said. “They also had to cut my ab muscle and sewed it back together so that is pain every time I breathe but surgery was a massive success and hopefully the last one. I now have to get my walking ability back and then get into all my PT. If I can get a handle on my neuropathy and joint pain we are looking good. I’ll be ready to go full steam in a few months!”

Cox has partnered with the cancer awareness organization Fuck Cancer to support their efforts in spreading information about the condition and early detection measures. “I didn’t want to announce [the diagnosis] until we kind of knew we were out of the woods,” he said. “’Cause you get a diagnosis of cancer and you instantly think death, and you instantly think the worst, and everybody on this planet knows somebody who’s dealt with cancer. And a lot of people don’t survive it. So once we got on the other side of it, I thought it was better to announce. So I was working with the Fuck Cancer guys for the whole year creating the drum set that I’m giving away and all that stuff. So I kept it a secret for a long time, just ’cause I didn’t wanna worry certain people, and all that kind of stuff. But I am extremely grateful to be on the other side of it.”