Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi Issues Statement on His Cancer Diagnosis

On Monday, it was revealed to the world that Tony Iommi was suffering from lymphoma and would be undergoing treatment to eradicate the disease.

On Friday, he posted the following statement on his official web page:

Message From Tony

13th January 2012

My fans, friends & colleagues -

I just want to say how overwhelmed I am with all your messages of support, thank you so much.

Well it's not what I wanted for Christmas, that's for sure, but now I can't wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment.

It's really good that the guys are coming over so that we can continue working on the album as things are going great in the studio.

Well, not much else to say at this time, so thanks again.

Bless you all,

Tony

The other members of Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, will be moving the writing for their new album from Los Angeles to London so they can continue working with Iommi during his treatments.

It is unknown how Iommi's condition will change the band's plans for a reunion tour. Word came out mid-week that they were scheduled for Coachella in April but had to pull out. Their next scheduled appearance is May 18 in Moscow.