Country Singer Toby Keith’s Battle With Stomach Cancer in His Own Words: ‘It’s Debilitating’

03.12.2022 - 01:19 / usmagazine.com

After Toby Keith was first diagnosed with stomach cancer, he’s been focused on fighting the illness.

“Last fall I was diagnosed with stomach cancer,” the “Red Solo Cup” crooner wrote via Instagram in June 2022, noting his intentions to take a performance hiatus as he recuperates. “I’ve spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax.”

As Keith — who married Tricia Lucus in 1984, with whom he shares three children — recovered from his medical procedures, he remained open about his difficult battle.

“I’m thinking about getting back in fighting shape,” the Oklahoma native said during an interview on CMT Hot 20 Countdown the following December. “I need a little time to just rest up and heal up.”

He added: “It’s pretty debilitating to have to go through all that, but as long as everything stays hunky-dory, then we’ll look at something good in the future.”

The Grammy Award nominee — who shares daughters Shelley and Krystal and son Stelen with his wife — rose to fame in April 1993 with the release of his self-titled debut album. Toby Keith notably featured the chart-topping single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.”

“I think we were actually at the Long Branch Saloon or Miss Kitty’s Saloon — it was something to do with Gunsmoke,” Keith recalled of his songwriting process for “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” during a December 2018 interview with Billboard. “This highway patrolman who I had met on the trip, his name was John, he jumps up. He was probably 45 or 50 back then, and he runs over to this 25-year-old cowgirl. He was going to show that he could bust a move. She turns him down. He comes over, and said, ‘She says she doesn’t dance.’ About 15 minutes later, a young cowboy