More than a year ago, Raul Malo shared some devastating news with his fans. The frontman of Grammy-winning country music band The Mavericks had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Trying to maintain as much normalcy as possible, Malo continued taking the stage with his bandmates in between multiple surgeries and chemotherapy treatment. Sadly, the “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” crooner, 60, recently suffered another heartbreaking setback in his battle against the disease. However, Malo emphasized in a recent social media post that he refuses to lead with fear in the latest chapter of his cancer saga.
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The Mavericks Cancel More Shows As Raul Malo’s Health Takes a Turn
In an Instagram post Wednesday, Sept. 24, Raul Malo revealed that doctors had diagnosed him with leptomeningeal disease, an incurable cancer surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
“Treatment for this is radiation, which I will start tomorrow,” Malo wrote. “We will probably jump into some chemo, and are even looking at alternative therapies. But it’s time to take your words to heart of resting & recovering, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Understandably, The Mavericks have paused live performances indefinitely as Malo navigates the next round of treatment. But rather than dwell in uncertainty, the CMA Award-winning vocalist instead chose to impart a message of hope.
“But I want to let everybody know, I am in no way alone, or scared,” Malo wrote. “I have an amazing wife and boys, wonderful family, team, road crew, band, friends and fans. I don’t even have enough words to describe the love and support that I’m getting right now.”
He continued, “We don’t know what this will look like a couple months from now, but we are going into it like we have with everything else. Full steam ahead. Fight, recover, rest, repeat. I want to thank you all for your incredible support through all this, & sorry about the cancellations but we have no choice anymore. Find kindness and empathy out there wherever you can. Humans are alright, even if you don’t believe it from what you see on TV.”
[RELATED: The Mavericks’ Raul Malo Hospitalized After Cancer Surgery Complications]
A Timeline of Malo’s Health Issues
Since publicly revealing his cancer diagnosis in June 2024, Raul Malo has remained candid about his health ups and downs. He first underwent surgery to remove a tumor on his liver in late 2024 before returning to the stage with the Mavericks in early 2025. However, he was hospitalized a short time later due to complications from that procedure.
Malo helped found the Mavericks in 1989. The Miami, Florida-based outfit has released 12 studio albums, including 1994’s double-platinum What a Crying Shamei.
Featured image by Rick Kern/WireImage
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