Toby Keith received a stomach cancer diagnosis in 2021. The country star kept the bad news quiet for a year until he finally had to cancel shows in 2022. At that time, he went public with his cancer battle. Finally, after years of fighting, Keith was able to play a few shows in Las Vegas late last year. It has been a long hard road for the star. In a recent interview, he revealed that his faith and the support of his family helped him push through the hardest times.
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Recently, Keith sat down with Oklahoma’s News 9 to talk about his career and what it has been like to fight cancer. During the conversation, he opened up about how important his faith and his family have been to keeping his spirits high over the last few years.
[RELATED: Toby Keith Details Challenges of Singing After Stomach Surgery, Provides Health Update]
Toby Keith on the Importance of Family and Faith During His Cancer Journey
He told the news outlet that he was doing “okay” these days. However, his fight against the Big C has been “a lot of dark hallways.” Keith is still in treatment and has undergone surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment.
“Cancer is a roller coaster, so it’s like, you just sit here and wait on it to go away. And, it may not ever go away. If it goes into remission, it will still be in the back of your mind,” Keith explained.
Then, he talked about how his faith has helped him. “You take it for granted on the days that things are good, and you lean on it when days are bad,” he said. “It has taught me to lean on a little more every day,” he said.
Keith went on to say that his faith helped him find peace in times of uncertainty. “I was going through all the chemo, radiation, surgery, and I got to the point where I was comfortable with whatever happened,” he revealed. “I had my brain wrapped around it and I was in a good spot either way,” he added. Without his faith giving him assurance about what comes in the next life, he would have never achieved that level of peace with his diagnosis.
Keith and his wife Tricia will celebrate 40 years of marriage in March. After so long together, he was able to find a new appreciation for her. “She’s been a trooper,” Keith said of his wife. “She stepped right in, took control, and said, ‘We got this.’”
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