Callum Jones
Michael Bolton's daughter has revealed the 'super weird' symptom her father experienced that ultimately led to a cancer diagnosis.
At the beginning of 2024, Bolton confirmed to fans he had a brain tumor and underwent 'immediate surgery' at the back end of 2023.
The singer added: "Thanks to my incredible medical team, the surgery was a success. I am now recuperating at home and surrounded by the tremendous love and support of my family.
"For the next couple of months, I will be devoting my time and energy to my recovery which means I’ll have to take a temporary break from touring."
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A 'super weird' symptom saw Bolton go to the doctors and get checked out, and once in the hands of medical professionals, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma - a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Bolton was out bowling with his kids and grandkids when everyone seemed to notice the 72-year-old was bowling out of turn.
"That was when we were like, ‘Something’s wrong with his brain," Bolton's daughter Taryn told People.
"Everything that happened was weird for him but not super alarming. When you look back at everything together … We missed so many things."
Because of his incredibly busy career at the time, many put it down to less concerning symptoms.
Taryn added: "Is this stress? Is this sleep? He’d been working nonstop that whole time. Traveling, doing shows, doing all of these things. We were like, he’s getting older, he’s tired, he’s stressed out. All of these things we sort of explained in a way, one by one."
There were many red flags on that evening, including an incident that saw Bolton fall out of his chair - something Taryn described as 'very unusual' for her father to do.
Neuro-oncologist Dr. Ingo Mellinghoff has been looking after Bolton, and he told People that symptoms of brain tumors include severe headaches, seizures and muscle weakness.
“If all of a sudden you’re a completely different person, and people are like, ‘He never gets out of bed anymore. What’s going on? He doesn’t want to do anything,'" he told the outlet.
"If somebody can’t move one part of their body, that’s never normal. Or changes in sensation. When they say, ‘I can’t feel anything anymore on my right side.’”
Bolton undergoes MRI scans every two months to ensure the cancer hasn't returned, as glioblastoma has an 'extremely high' recurrence rate.
The songwriter's last scan in April came back all clear.