Dave Mustaine: I'm '100 Percent' Cancer-Free

said he is “100 percent” cancer-free during ’s concert at the SSE Arena in London Friday, January 31st.

About halfway through the band’s set, Mustaine told the crowd about his throat cancer diagnosis last year, which he was given right as Megadeth was recording their new album. “At first, I thought, ‘Am I afraid?’” Mustaine recalled. “And then I said, ‘No. I’m fucking pissed.’ And we stopped the record, we stopped everything.”

Mustaine said he underwent 51 radiation treatments and nine chemotherapy treatments after his diagnosis, noting that he was determined to beat the disease so he could play music again. Mustaine also spoke about how important prayer was for him during this time.

“I know a lot of you guys know that I pray,” he told the crowd. “I say that in Megadeth’s] ‘Peace Sells’. I pray every day. I say that in the song. I’ve said it since the second record. But I thought about you guys every day, too. And I thought about my family. And I got this power from you guys. And I just kept thinking about it. And on October 16th, I went to go see the doctor, and he said, ‘You’re 100 percent free of cancer.’”

Megadeth’s European tour will continue through February and, so far, the band has yet to announce any other shows for this year. Megadeth also hasn’t offered any updates on their as-yet-untitled 16th album, although Mustaine is prepping a new book about the band’s seminal 1990 album, Rust in Peace. Mustaine co-wrote the book, Building the Perfect Beast, with Joel Selvin, and it’s set to arrive September 8th.