Stephen Pearcy will be the first to tell you that he’s tempted fate plenty of times in the past. But finding out he had liver cancer in 2018 was a moment of hard reality.
“You use and abuse, you know? And I did, as we [all] did,” the Ratt frontman and founder admitted during a recent conversation with Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan on The Magnificent Others podcast. “It’s kind of f—ed up when somebody goes, ‘Hey, you might want to get your things in order.”
“Okay, look, I’ve been run over, I’ve had broken bones, rods, wires…I am the bionic man — [I’ve got] fake knees,” he says. “But when that happened, I just [Pearcy sighs] that was it. Long story short, if it wasn’t for Kristi [Adair, Pearcy’s wife] keeping me in order, and us creating a beautiful support system for me and the business, [things could have been different]…..But yeah, I went in and had surgeries and this and that. And thank God, [things are okay].”
“I don’t know why I’m still here,” the rocker shared during a 2021 interview. “But, look, I’m appreciating every day and minute above ground here, because all of our peers are seemingly disappearing. And it’s such a drag. But it’s under control. And I never wanted to bring it up until I really started feeling guilty about it.”
How He Found Out About His Serious Health Issues
Like many people have, Pearcy learned there was an issue as he was in the midst of addressing another health problem. In this particular case, the rocker was getting a blood test, part of appointments for hepatitis. “I found out, ‘By the way, you’ve got a bit of cancer thing going there. We’ve gotta get in there.’ Then your whole world changes,” he said in that same 2021 conversation. “Still, I didn’t feel like it needed to be out there until I started feeling guilty. Like, ‘Wow, man, I can help some people.’
“Get blood tests. Take care of yourself. Find out if you have hepatitis. If you have hepatitis, hopefully it doesn’t turn into a cancerous thing, because it easily can,” he added. “And now I’m the advocate of, hey, take care of yourself. It’s a little personal to me, but I felt it was time to share it.”
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He’s Happy to Be Reunited With Warren DeMartini
One of the best things that happened in the past year found the Ratt singer reuniting with his old bandmate, guitarist Warren DeMartini. The pair have been out playing songs from their shared body of work and have even hinted that they might consider working on new music together.
“It is a blessing that Warren and I got back together because we forgot how important we were to each other,” he told Corgan. “You go, ‘Hey man, we’re buddies.’ You only live twice. [Pearcy chuckles] I see things very differently [now] with the business and my life. I separate the two; I really do.”
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