Josh Homme says cancer battle "changed my outlook on everything"

Josh Homme reflects on cancer battle: 'Changed my outlook on everything' Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has opened up about surviving cancer, which he credited as life-changing. Homme announced his diagnosis in the summer of 2023, revealing he'd received the news in 2022 but kept the specifics of the illness private. Then, in November 2023, he positively shared that he'd received the 'all-clear' and said of the battle, 'I'm sort of thankful for it all at the end, because I feel closer to the things that I truly love.' In 2024, Homme had another health setback, but he didn't say what it was caused by, revealing last year of his ordeal, 'I spent the next seven months in bed. I had a lot of time to think, you know? I was told I was gonna spend 18 months, two years there, so I was not excited.' Now, in a new episode of the We Might Be Drunk podcast, Homme again opened up about his health issues after being complimented for his weight loss, jokingly replying, 'Thank you, I got cancer.' On a more serious note, he added, 'It sort of woke me up to a whole bunch of things that I'd not been paying attention to in my life, so that's why I thought I'd come here and drink in the day.' Homme then explained that he was thankfully 'able to get it really early but I had all these complications, there was probably a doctor mistake that I could have pursued, I don't know, maybe I could of, that led to all kinds of complications and stuff, but honestly I think those types of things they're life-changing oftentimes in a negative way, but if you make it through them, it's life-changing in a really great way.' He added, 'It changed my outlook on everything, you know, I really started enjoying things.' Homme also shared that it was the 'complications post-that' which he described as 'long and difficult' that were particularly challenging. However, he did have gratitude for the support network around him, adding, 'It reduced everything that was important to something you count on one hand.' While on the topic of his health struggles, Homme also discussed how a Salmonella outbreak on a European tour with Queens of the Stone Age once saw him lose '30 pounds in seven days' due to consuming 'rancid meat', but proudly recalled how they 'decided to keep playing' and not cancel shows. Homme is prepping for Queens of the Stone Age to release their new album, Perfecth, on October 30th through Matador Records.