Eddie Van Halen's Cancer Battles
- The world was shocked and saddened in October 2020 when rockstar Eddie Van Halen, who’s from Amsterdam, Netherlands, died at age 65 after multiple cancer battles.
- Now, the REELZ Channel's documentary-style series Autopsy: The Last Hours of… is set to release a new episode on Sunday, June 5, about Eddie's death, and his ex-wife and son aren't happy about it.
- Eddie struggled with his health for many years. SurvivorNet obtained a copy of the death certificate issued two months after his passing which revealed he was suffering from both lung and skin cancer.
Now, the REELZ Channel's documentary-style series Autopsy: The Last Hours of… is set to release a new episode on Sunday, June 5, about Eddie's death, and his ex-wife and son aren't happy about it.
Read MoreFuck @ReelzChannel, fuck everyone that works on this show, and fuck you if you watch it. Fucking disgusting trying to glamorize someone's death from cancer. Pathetic and heartless. https://t.co/84BE5rx81C
Wolf Van Halen 🺠🚠🙌 (@WolfVanHalen) June 1, 2022
Valerie, 62, responded to her son's post, writing: "Good Christ this is disgusting."
Good Christ this is disgusting
🕊🇺🇦 Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) June 1, 2022
According to People, REELZ said in a prepared statement that the series "responsibly explores the circumstances of the passing of well-known and genuinely loved celebrities who the public cares about immensely."
"The REELZ series generates much feedback from our viewers ranging from medical professionals who praise its scientific accuracy, fans who tell us it provides closure or that they have become more proactive for the benefit of their health and many who gain helpful perspective of health issues that might not otherwise receive attention…," the statement continued.
The show's official description asserts that the show "reveals the truth behind the controversial deaths of global icons and people whose untimely deaths were surrounded by scandal and intense media attention."
The description for the episode about Eddie's death says: "So what happened? World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter needs to analyze every detail of Eddie Van Halen's life in order to piece together what else may have been going on in his body, ultimately leading to his untimely death."
Eddie Van Halen's Cancer Battles
Eddie Van Halen’s first diagnosis tongue cancer came in the year 2000 when his son, Wolfgang, was just 9 years old. For treatment, he had part of his tongue removed, but he was declared to have entered remission in 2002.
Then, around 2014, he was diagnosed with throat cancer after cancerous cells traveled there from his tongue. In 2017, cancer struck again when Eddie was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Then came a brain tumor in 2019. He received treatment for his lung cancer in Germany to extend his expected survival time and reportedly had gamma knife radiation, a type of a radiosurgery, to remove his brain tumor.
Eddie struggled with his health for many years. SurvivorNet obtained a copy of the death certificate issued two months after his passing which revealed he was suffering from both lung and skin cancer. The document lists his cause of death as a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), but underlying conditions included pneumonia, lung cancer, myelodysplastic syndrome and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Myelodysplastic syndrome, a disorder which causes a disruption in blood cell production, often occurs in response to cancer treatments. He had been suffering from this disorder for the last six months of his life.
One important thing to note is that while we don’t necessarily know why each of his cancers developed, we do know that years of heavy drinking, drug use and chain-smoking might have increased his risk for cancer. And despite Eddie Van Halen's claims that his throat cancer was caused by putting copper and brass guitar picks in his mouth for years, there’s no sufficient evidence to back up these claims.
Losing a Loved One to Cancer
Recovering after losing a loved one to cancer, especially a partner or even former partner (like in Valerie Bertinelli’s case with Eddie Van Halen), is not a "one-and-done" process, many members of the SurvivorNet community have told us.
One widower said that the idea of "moving on" is not realistic, or even desired.
"I don't even think I want to move on," Doug Wendt, who lost his wife of 25 years to ovarian cancer, said during a previous interview with SurvivorNet. "But I do want to move forward, and that's an important distinction. I encourage anyone who goes through this journey as a caregiver who then has to face loss to think very carefully about how to move forward."
The point is that moving on and dealing with grief is different for everyone; Valerie's and Wolfgang’s experience moving on has been different than Wendt's experience, and that’s OK.
Contributing: Abigail Seaberg
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