On Tuesday, Ness wrote on Instagram that he received the news of the cancer diagnosis as the band was preparing to enter the studio and record a new record. He writes that he continued to participate in the work until the day before he was to have surgery because he “felt healthy enough”.
Ness has now undergone the operation and is recovering before radiation treatment, which will begin in three weeks and which the doctors believe will be the last treatment he will need.
“We expect a full recovery and that I will be able to continue living a long and productive life,” Ness writes.
Due to Ness’s illness, the band is postponing the planned North American summer tour and also the release of the band’s eighth album – the first since 2011.
“I promise it will be released and that it will exceed your expectations,” writes Mike Ness.
The band has been around for over 40 years – Mike Ness was just 17 when he formed Social Distortion in 1978 in California.