Mike Ness diagnosed with stage one tonsil cancer, Social Distortion cancels all immediate engagements

Legendary U.S. punk rocker Mike Ness has announced the cancellation of Social Distortion's upcoming tour on account of being diagnosed with stage one tonsil cancer. This certainly is a punch in the gut for Ness, his family, his friends and his fans. Thankfully, the disease seems to have been caught somewhat early and, according to Mike's statement, the prognosis is good.

You can check out Mike's full statement below.

When we saw the band last summer, Ness was struggling vocally. He powered through in pure punk rock fashion of course, and the audience loved every second of it, but one can't help but wonder if the disease was already rearing its head...

The silver lining in that statement is that Social Distortion's long-awaited new album seems to be nearing completion, so hopefully it won't be too long until we get to hear new material and the band hits the road with a fully recovered Mike Ness at its helm.