Iconic drummer of Australian rocker Midnight Oil, Rob Hirst has confirmed his battle with pancreatic cancer.
Explaining that he’s been living with the disease for the last two years, the co-founder of the 1970s Sydney-based band revealed his diagnosis in an interview with The Australian newspaper, stating:
“So it’s ongoing.” “I’ve had pretty much every treatment known to man – every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I’ve kind of had ‘the works,’ and adding that he’s was diagnosed “early”, with his tumor being caught while at stage three.
After learning about his condition, Hirst started months of chemotherapy prior to an unsuccessful eight-hour surgical attempt to removal the tumor followed by continuous chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Originally opting to keep his diagnosis a secret, Rob has since gone public in order to raise awareness to pancreatic cancer, noting that it “hasn’t really attracted the attention, for example, of skin cancers or breast cancers or others”.
Originally formed in 1972 as Farm, the Midnight Oil moniker was adopted in 1976 under which the Aussie act released eleven LPs before breaking up 2002 and regrouping in 2016 for the release of their final studio album, Resist, in February of 2022.
Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds Are Burning’ single in 1987 is oft times considered a landmark of Australian music, with its message of Indigenous land rights resonating around the world.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Fab_Photo_29