After the initial wave of punk rock in the 1970s, a second, faster and more aggressive version—called hardcore—followed in its wake.
New York, which gave us the Ramones and Blondie, remained a hub for punk rock, and one of the biggest bands of the mid-80s New York hardcore scene was Sick of it All.
Sadly, that name became a bad joke in June 2024 when lead singer, Lou Koller,announced he was undergoing treatment for an esophageal tumor.
Thankfully, Lou had a great announcement to share on May 20: he’s cancer-free!
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“I’ve got some good news for everyone. I got my test results back,” said Lou at the start of the video he posted online. “And it turns out, it looks like there’s nothing left. No more cancer. So I’m officially cancer-free right now. Thank God for that.”
Lou thanked everyone for sending their “positive vibes, your prayer, all your well wishes” during this time. He said he would try to “get myself back to normal instead of this chicken neck and all this stuff.”
“Thank you,” he added. “That’s all I can say. I’m really happy. I still have to go for a new scan every six months for the next couple of years to make sure it’s still out of me, but as of now, I’m cancer-free. Thank you, everybody, so much.”
When Lou first went public with his cancer diagnosis, he said that his doctors had found “a tumor in my esophagus that goes into my stomach.” The band was scheduled to tour in Europe that summer, but told him to forget about it and “just get healthy.”
In February, Lou posted a video that announced that he was having his “last day of chemo!” He said that afterwards, he’ll have to get his “voice and body back in shape,” and that he didn’t know “when I’ll be able to taste food normally again.”
Lou added he was still numb in his fingers and toes, and his taste buds were all wonky.
“Right now, I kind of taste what I’m eating, but it’s overpowered by a chemical/metallic taste,” he wrote. “But it will all be a memory soon. Thanks again for your support!”
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