Moore Thought He Had Cancer But It Was A Lipoma
Country artist Justin Moore is getting candid about a near-death experience from cancer. After chatting on Tracy Lawrence’s TL’s Road House podcast, released on Wednesday, August 19, the singer of “Small Town USA,” at 42 years old, opened up about his health, including his trip to a doctor due to fat accumulation on his neck.
Moore, while holding the lower part of her neck, said that I’ve experienced some health problems but, fortunately, nothing that would threaten life. “I have; do you know that? I think you may not be able to see it, but you know, I’m sure people say, “Oh my, you have really been eating well!” he exclaimed.
Moore said that initially, they thought that the lump was a lipoma. (A lipoma is a benign skin tumor which forms as a collection of fat cells just under the skin and grows quite slowly, per the Cleveland Clinic.)
Lawrence, in response, asked, “Like a fatty cyst?” Moore said, “It is just fat. It has been a relief; God is good for that.”
Justin Moore: Doctors Warned Neck Surgery Could Affect Speaking Voice
He stated that the doctors suggested removing the tumor from the country musician if he wanted that; they just needed to do it. However, they told him that such operations would be “very, very difficult to perform” and could possibly impact his ability to sing and speak.
“We were walking out of the hospital hand in hand with my wife after I did something like an MRI, and they gave us a big thumbs-up. ‘Well, guys, good news: it’s a benign tumor, although in truth there’s not really anything that you could do,'” he recounted.
The artist admitted that walking out of the hospital was a tough time, and it was the kind of time when you start to imagine the worst-case scenario because it took you so long to find out it was not cancer after all. And it was so difficult at that time when you did not have all these facts at hand, and the only way to know was going through the whole ordeal of having the scan,” he continued. He was willing to hear “a few” more doctors’ opinions but admitted at the end it “doesn’t matter at all,” explaining, “It’s just that I have a body similar to a linebacker from around 1982 with a thick neck, right?”
Justin Opens Up On Health Scare, Rehab, And Wife’s Support
He mentioned that his wife Kate, whom he married in 2007 and with whom he raises four kids, Ella, 16; Kennedy, 14; Rebecca, 12; and South, 9, did not mind the situation at all.
“My wife looked at me; she said, ‘If you only have a fat neck and you’re here for the next 50 years, you just need to stop complaining.’ And I agreed,” he replied. After this, he added with humor, “Besides, I never sold records because of my looks first.”
Besides his “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” hit song, he has talked about his health problems openly. June saw the announcement that he had decided to spend less time on tour, taking the time instead to prioritize his health and go to rehab, as he confessed his drinking had gotten too much.
Justin Moore Celebrates 65 Days Sober: ‘I Feel Like Myself For The First Time’
“It started having an impact on my life,” explained Moore on TL’s Road House podcast. “So one day I sort of looked at myself in the mirror…I realized that I was channeling so much energy into alcohol and everything associated with it that I was not only losing my professionalism but also hurting my family and the most important aspect of my life, church.”
He mentioned that following one Sunday after church, he came up to his wife and told her, “I need to get help,” and he resolved to consider recovery as a “business trip.” Ever since, he has maintained sobriety for 65 days.
“I still can’t figure out quite what motivated me, but I simply thought, ‘I would like to get into shape,'” he revealed. “I seem like myself again for the first time in ages. I also am proud of myself for the first time in a while.”
