Saxon 's Biff Byford revealed on Friday, the 15th, that he underwent surgery to remove "a small tumor" from his prostate. The emergency surgery, as well as chemotherapy, forced the cancellation of ten of the band's shows scheduled for the summer of 2025.
The Saxon vocalist posted a video on social media explaining the procedure [transcription via Blabbermouth ]:
“Hi, this is Biff from Saxon. I want to keep you updated on what’s going on with my health and why we had to cancel some shows. So, yeah, I got sick and, obviously, as you know, I had a heart problem. So, this time, it wasn’t my heart. I had an MRI of my prostate before traveling to the United States a few months ago, which was normal, but they found a shadow, a tumor, a small tumor, that they didn’t know was there. That’s why I needed to have emergency surgery on July 8th.”
“We never like to cancel or postpone shows — it’s complete nonsense — so I’m over the operation now. It’s been five weeks since I had the operation. It was a small tumor. Unfortunately, I need to have a short course of chemotherapy, what they call a cleansing, just in case there’s anything there that they missed. The operation was a success, they removed all the cancer, but they just need to make sure there’s none circulating in my bloodstream.”
Biff Byford has a tumor removed.
Biff Byford continued: “So, yeah, sorry, because we hate to cancel shows, but I want you all to know what’s going on, because a lot of people speculated that it was my heart and things like that. So, they found a small tumor and removed it immediately. So, yeah, the prognosis — I think that’s the right word — is good. My healing is progressing. I’m feeling good at the moment.”
So, yes, I'm writing the next Saxon album, finalizing the album, doing the arrangements, writing the lyrics and melodies. That's the advantage of having free time. Obviously, I've lost quite a bit of weight, which is also an advantage. So, see you in November. And keep the faith. Have a fantastic summer, and I'll keep you updated on what's happening. Okay? So, that's it, let's go. Peace and quiet.”
In September 2019, Biff suffered a heart attack and underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. In August 2024, he underwent another surgery to treat atrial flutter, a type of heart rhythm abnormality, or arrhythmia, that causes the upper chambers of the heart (atria) to beat too fast.
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