Singer From 2000s Rock Band Reveals Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis, Tour Canceled

Newsweek

08-05-2025

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Brad Arnold, lead singer of 3 Doors Down, has been diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer, prompting the cancellation of the band's upcoming U.S. summer tour.
The 46-year-old front man revealed the diagnosis in a video posted to social media on Wednesday, telling fans that the cancer had metastasized to his lungs.
"It's Stage IV, and that's not real good," Arnold said in the video. "But, you know what? We serve a mighty God, and he can overcome anything. So I have no fear, I really sincerely am not scared of it at all."
Arnold said he had been feeling unwell for several weeks before doctors diagnosed him with clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, when this type of cancer spreads to other organs, treatment becomes more difficult and the five-year survival rate drops to around 10 percent.
3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold is seen on stage in Munich, Germany, on 24 October, 2016.
3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold is seen on stage in Munich, Germany, on 24 October, 2016.
Jens Niering/Picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
The band's planned tour, which was scheduled to begin May 15 in Daytona Beach, Florida, included several co-headlining dates with Creed. All upcoming performances have been removed from the band's website and replaced with Arnold's video message.
Arnold said that 3 Doors Down's 2008 hit "It's Not My Time" has taken on a new, personal significance. He also asked fans to "lift me up in prayer every chance you get."
Arnold, the last remaining founding member of 3 Doors Down, co-founded the band in Escatawpa, Mississippi in 1996. They achieved early success with the hit single "Kryptonite," which he wrote in high school. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped launch the band's debut album, The Better Life, which went on to sell over six million copies.
The band's subsequent albums, including Away From the Sun and Seventeen Days, solidified their status as rock radio mainstays. Over the years, the group has undergone several lineup changes. Founding guitarist Matt Roberts left in 2012 and died of a prescription drug overdose in 2016. Bassist Todd Harrell was dismissed after being convicted of vehicular homicide in 2013.
Arnold struggled with alcohol addiction but credited his Christian faith with supporting his sobriety since 2016.
"Without question, God took that burden from me," he previously told The Guardian regarding his sobriety. "I was so tired of carrying it. I couldn't carry it anymore so I gave it to God and I'm not taking it back."
Support for Arnold poured in online, with Creed front man Scott Stapp writing on Instagram: "If anyone has the FAITH and STRENGTH to face this fight, it's YOU brother."
Singer Gavin DeGraw added: "May God bless you brother. Showing us how to conquer the darkness with light."
Arnold did not provide additional details about treatment plans but said he is surrounded by support and remains hopeful.