Rob Derhak has started treatment for oropharyngeal cancer. A letter from Rob: Early last week I was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer. Although I'd known something wasn't quite right for a while, I wasn't expecting to get this news. The prognosis is good, and the survival rate is high. Unfortunately the treatment will be rough on my body, and my voice. I will be out of commission for the foreseeable future, which means, moe. will be going on an unplanned hiatus. My treatments will begin in early August, and I will not be available for our planned summer tour. I'm very happy that we, as a band and a fan base, were able to successfully bring moe.down music festival back this Summer and I thank you all for your support. My love for our music, my band mates, our crew, and all of you continually grows and I hope to be back on stage doing what I love to do sometime soon. Until then, know that I'm in good hands, and I'm forever grateful for all of your support. Your Pal, Rob Message from Moe.: Due to unforeseen circumstances, moe. will be going on indefinite hiatus effective August 1, 2017. We will play our remaining two shows in July (7/21 PlayStation Theater, 7/28 The Huckleberry Jam), as well as our LOCKN' Festival appearance with Phil Lesh. Other than these three shows, we will be closing our doors until further notice. More info for the Summer Tour with Railroad Earth will be forthcoming in the next few days. Please give us some time to sort out the details. Thank you all for your love and support. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We look forward to seeing you down the road. Love, Rob, Chuck, Al, Jim, & Vinnie --------------------------------------------------------
If I'm remembering correctly, this is a very similar cancer to Mark Karan. He's playing and singing again, stronger than ever.