Rod Stewart's 'palms went cold' after receiving terrifying health diagnosis

Rod Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer following a routine health check and the singer has described the moment he got the news

Rod Stewart candidly opened up about the moment he was diagnosed with cancer, recalling how his "palms went cold" upon hearing the news. The legendary Maggie May singer celebrates his 80th birthday today.

He's still going strong with a worldwide tour, but he previously admitted things could have gone very different for him after a health scare.

It unfolded after a routine check-up at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where Rod initially felt as "fit as a butcher's dog". Following several tests, he found himself being called into the doctor's office because something had cropped up on his thyroid gland.

The singer detailed the anxious moments in 2012 autobiography: "The following day, I went back to the hospital and underwent a biopsy. Under a local anaesthetic, part of the affected area was removed using a needle and taken away for analysis.

"And the day after that, I got a call at home, which I took standing up and which made my palms go cold. The results of the tests indicated that the 'something' on my thyroid gland was a malignant growth: cancer."

For Stewart, who noted such news will "really do it to you", admitted feeling unprecedented fear and vulnerability. Shortly after receiving this daunting news, Rod was back at the hospital for surgery, and to maintain privacy, he checked in under the alias "Billy Potts" – a nod to his dogs' names, reports the Daily Record.

The critical nature of the operation weighed on him heavily as it required precision near his vocal cords. "Any slip", he confided, could have curtailed his singing career forever.

The singer underwent a successful operation and didn't need chemotherapy, which meant his hair was safe—a prospect he jokingly referred to as a career-ending threat "second only" to losing his voice. However, speaking on Loose Women in 2021, Rod revealed that he did lose his voice, admitting that the days of staying up all night, getting drunk, and going mad without affecting his vocal cords are over, and now he has to "protect" his voice.

He shared at the time: "I had a touch of thyroid cancer, it was over and out within 10 minutes. I don't want to pretend I fought cancer for months and months. It was really easy to get rid of, but I did lose my voice totally gone."