Singer Michael Bolton has incurable brain cancer. What is glioblastoma?
Already, the singer-songwriter has beaten long odds by surviving more than a year.
American singer-songwriter Michael Bolton, whose enduring rock music career has earned him two Grammy Awards over the course of five decades, announced that he has a rare and incurable form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.
Bolton, 72, first revealed the formal diagnosis in an interview with People magazine and also confirmed it on social media. He vowed to fight the disease after revealing last year that he was pausing his tour because of illness and that he had undergone surgery for a brain tumor.
“Succumbing to the challenge is not an option,” he told the magazine. “You’re really quickly drawn into a duel. I guess that’s the way you find out what you’re made of.”
The facts
Bolton revealed to People magazine that the illness he has been fighting is glioblastoma, an incurable and fast-growing form of cancer that involves a tumor in the brain or spine, according to Cleveland Clinic. The magazine reported that his short-term memory, speech, and mobility have been affected by his cancer treatments.
Glioblastoma “is one of the most complex, deadly, and treatment-resistant cancers,” according to the National Brain Tumor Society, which says that the five-year survival rate for patients is about 6.9% and that the average length of survival for most patients is estimated to be about eight months.
Bolton was diagnosed in December 2023 after undergoing emergency surgery, People reported, adding that doctors were able to remove all of his brain tumor — a rare outcome. Bolton then underwent a second brain surgery in January 2024 as a result of an infection, and he finished chemotherapy and radiation in October, the magazine said.
Bolton, a storied musician who started his career in the mid-1970s, has churned out numerous rock and pop hits, including “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1991), a cover of a Percy Sledge song from the 1960s, “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?” (1989), and “Steel Bars” (1991), a song he co-wrote with Bob Dylan. He was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995 and won six American Music Awards.
What to know about glioblastoma
Glioblastoma, although rare, accounts for about half of all brain tumor diagnoses, according to the National Brain Tumor Society, with the average age of diagnosis around 65. Though it was first identified in scientific literature more than 100 years ago, only a handful of drugs or devices have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the disease.
About 90% of glioblastoma patients experience a recurrence of the tumor at its original site, a 2021 study stated. Already, Bolton has defeated incredible odds by surviving more than a year since his diagnosis.
About 15,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year, the National Foundation for Cancer Research says, meaning it accounts for about 1% of all invasive forms of cancer. “Although considered a rare cancer, doctors are seeing an increase in cases of the aggressive and deadly brain cancer that’s notoriously hard to treat,” the foundation stated.
Why Michael Bolton is speaking now
Bolton told People he is facing “a reality of mortality” and has been meditating daily and playing golf, while also spending time with his numerous children and grandchildren in Connecticut, according to the interview. He also exercises with a personal trainer and does “voice therapy” with an online coach, the magazine reported.
“Suddenly a new light has gone on that raises questions, including ‘Am I doing the best that I can do with my time?’” he told the magazine.
On Instagram, he said he hopes that sharing his cancer diagnosis and his experience “might offer comfort to other families facing similar challenges, and perhaps even inspire those navigating their own adversity.” He also thanked his family and friends for being by his side.