The past year has been tough for all of us, but even moreso on those who have been battling illness in the midst of a pandemic.
One of them has been Ronnie Wood, guitarist from The Rolling Stones, who revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer for the second time during last year's lockdown.
The 73-year-old told The Sun: "I’ve had cancer two different ways now. I had lung cancer in 2017, and I had small-cell more recently that I fought in the last lockdown."
Thankfully, Wood says that he has been given the all-clear after his most recent bout with the disease. He said that he had recovered quickly because of his newfound sobriety, and "putting his fate in the hands of a ‘higher power", and said that making art had been especially helpful.
"Art therapy was self-imposed in a way, especially in lockdown,” he said. “The art has got me through it - to express and get lost. I’ve done so much work.”
“I’m going through a lot of problems now, but throughout my recovery, you have to let it go,” Wood added. “And when you hand the outcome over to your higher power, that is a magic thing.”
“That brings you back to the Serenity Prayer: ‘Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.’ That’s incredible. What will be will be, it’s nothing to do with me. All I can do is stay positive in my attitude, be strong and fight it, and the rest is up to my higher power."
The Rolling Stones were scheduled to finish their 'No Filter' tour with a run of North American dates last year but it was put on hold because of the pandemic.
