Van Halen namesake and rock god Eddie Van Halen has begun outpatient treatment at a Houston cancer center, his band’s official Web site (www.van-halen.com) says. The announcement, posted Friday, notes that Van Halen, 43, is undergoing treatment to “prevent cancer.” He visited the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on Thursday.
Additionally, the hospital spokeswoman is refuting reports from an unofficial Van Halen Web site, the Van Halen News Desk (www.vhnd.com), that the guitar legend is suffering from tongue cancer. “Let me confirm he does not have cancer,” Anderson’s Jane Brust told Reuters. It was not known exactly which form of cancer Van Halen was seeking to prevent with his treatment.
Van Halen, whose hits date back to the mid-1970s (or three lead singers ago), has been married to actress Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time”) since 1981. They have a son, Wolfgang, 9.
