Coping Through Music
- Wolfgang Van Halen, 29, released a new song and music video in honor of his late father Eddie Van Halen, who passed from throat cancer just over a month ago.
- While coping with losing a loved one to cancer, creative outlets such as music, painting, and writing can be helpful tools with processing emotions.
- Smoking and excessive drinking are the two main causes of throat cancer.
“No matter what the distance is I will be with you. No matter what the distance is you'll be okay. No matter what the distance is I will be with you. No matter what the distance is you'll be okay.”
While the music video lets fans see a sweet glimpse of the family’s memories, the song’s lyrics are an homage to Wolfgang’s view after his passing. In the beginning of the song, he sings about his devastation about losing his father, and he can’t imagine living without him. However, he also says he’s thankful his father is no longer suffering, and reassures him that even though he is no longer on this earth, they are still together and the distance will never be too far between them.
“I'm so happy you've found a place that's better for you than this rock we're living on,” Wolfgang sings. “No matter what the distance is I will be with you. No matter what the distance is you'll be okay. No matter what the distance is I will be with you. No matter what the distance is you'll be okay.”
Throat Cancer Causes & Symptoms
Van Halen had been battling cancer for around two decades. He was first diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2000, where he had part of his tongue removed as a part of treatment. He was declared in remission in 2002. However, due to cancerous cells that had traveled from his tongue, Van Halen was later diagnosed with throat cancer around 2014.
Related: Majority of Throat Cancer Diagnoses Are Caused by HPV Here's What You Need to Know
Van Halen had said in the past he suspects that his throat cancer was caused by putting copper and brass guitar picks in his mouth for years, but there's no sufficient evidence to suggest that copper and brass are linked to cancer risk. The two main causes of throat cancer include smoking and excessive drinking, and Van Halen himself had said he's been smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol since he was 12-years-old.
Currently, there’s no annual screenings for throat cancer like other types of the disease. However, there are signs to look out for and consult your doctor if they happen often. Symptoms of throat cancer can include: a cough, changes in your voice, difficulty swallowing, ear pain, a lump or sore in the throat that will not heal, unexplained weight loss, and a persistent sore throat.
Dr. Ted Teknos breaks down how HPV and throat cancer are linked
Channeling Grief Through Creativity
Wolfgang using music to cope with this enormous loss can be a helpful tool for him in dealing with his grief. Losing a loved one, especially a parent, to cancer can cause a roller-coaster of emotions. While mourning, it’s so important to find ways to express those feelings instead of bottling them up. Creative outlets can be a very helpful way in coping.
If you’re part of a legendary rock star family like the Van Halen’s, music is a great way to get all those emotions out. For others, they may consider turning to outlets such as writing or painting. This was the case for artist Marianne Cuozzo, who struggled after dealing with multiple different cancer battles.
Marianne was first diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 1994 at age 28. In 1997 she had a recurrence, and in 2014 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy for treatment, and used painting as a way to express all the emotions she felt.
“I’d go in the studio, and I had these huge pieces of charcoal and I would do these really angry charcoal drawings, and I’d roll them up and stuff them under the couch,” Marianne tells SurvivorNet. “No one was meant to see them because it was just for me and, my cathartic getting out my anger. My artwork is very reflective of my cancer journey.”
Artist Marianne Cuozzo used painting as a way to cope with her three separate cancer battles
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