PRETTY MAIDS Singer RONNIE ATKINS Reveals Cancer Has Returned, Now Stage 4

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

PRETTY MAIDS singer Ronnie Atkins has taken to social media to inform his fans that his cancer has returned. The 55-year-old Danish musician was diagnosed back with lung cancer last year and underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments last fall before being declared cancer-free. Earlier today, Atkins released the following statement via his Facebook page: "As promised a little while ago here's an update on my health situation. "I'm not gonna go into details, but just state that unfortunately I'm still battling cancer! "After some pain issues and following a scan just before Easter this year I was told that the cancer had spread and I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, which in principle means incurable! "Now there were two paths I could go by! I could sit down in a corner and feel pity for myself (which I guess I did for a while) or I could try to carry on living and do what I do best and I chose the latter. So with great back up from my family and true friends I decided to keep on writing and recording, plus the fact that I had a lot of ideas/songs that I wanted to get out of my system. "So that's what I’ve been doing on/off for the last couple of months. That eventually means that some new music is coming from me in the immediate future, but more details on that later. "All that said, I must state that I feel good these days and have for a while. I still get treatments, mainly immune therapy. I have some permanent pain issues and other sequelaes that I have to deal with! And mentally, I have my good days and my bad days, so be it ! But I feel that I'm in good hands with the doctors and staff who's treating me, so everything considered I'm in good spirits! It is what it is and I can't change that whatsoever, so I simply aim to get the best out of life. "Finally another huuuuge thank to all of you out there who have been rooting for me and cheering me up through this process ! Means a lot to me". All of PRETTY MAIDS' previously announced shows were canceled and all of the group's plans were put "on hold" while Ronnie underwent treatment for his cancer last year. Formed in early 1982 by Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS quickly established itself as a band to be taken seriously. In April 1987, "Future World", the band's third album recorded in the USA, was released to great acclaim and is still today regarded as a "classic." After the release of the follow-up album "Jump The Gun" (produced by DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover), PRETTY MAIDS in 1991 were on the verge of a breakup. However, Hammer and Atkins found a new rhythm section and in 1992 released the "Sin - Decade", a record that would reveal that PRETTY MAIDS was still a force to be reckoned with, despite the fact that the metal scene now was overrun by the grunge movement. "Sin - Decade" became a huge success in Japan and gave the band a big radio hit with the single "Please Don't Leave Me", laying the foundation for the band in the East that would last for the next decade. During the ensuing years, PRETTY MAIDS continued to release albums usually followed by European and Japanese tours. In a 2013 interview with Myglobalmind, Atkins joked that the secret to keeping his voice in shape was "twenty cigarettes a day and little drink now and then." PRETTY MAIDS' latest album, "Undress Your Madness", was released in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.