Georgia Entertainment Scene

Eddie Money reveals he has esophageal cancer

By Melissa Ruggieri
Aug 24, 2019

Eddie Money canceled his summer tour after developing pneumonia following heart valve surgery.

But the classic rocker’s health issues are even more serious than fans realized.

Money reveals on an upcoming episode of his AXS TV series, “Real Money,” that he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer last fall.

Money’s wife, Laurie, confirms that the tumor is at the top of Money’s stomach, in his esophagus, and has spread to his liver.

The episode that delves into the diagnosis will air on Sept. 12. This season of “Real Money” will focus on the singer’s cancer and how it impacts his family.

“What I don’t want to do is I don’t want to keep the fact that I have cancer from everybody,” Money says. “It’s not honest. I want to be honest with everybody. I want people to know that cancer [treatment] has come a long way and not everybody dies from cancer like they did in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Am I going to live a long time? Who knows? It’s in God’s hands.”

With a string of hits including “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Take Me Home Tonight,” “Baby Hold On,” “Think I’m in Love” and “I Wanna Go Back,” the 70-year-old Brooklyn native was a durable presence on rock radio in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

In 2011, Money helmed the "Money in the Morning" radio show on The River 97.1 (which he recorded in Los Angeles), an experiment that lasted about three months. 

Money played The Fred amphitheater in Peachtree City in June 2018 (with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas); he still plans to return to the road later this year despite his many health concerns.

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About the Author

Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.

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