Country music star not ‘scared’ despite incurable cancer diagnosis

It’s been an incredibly hard year for Raul Malo.

The Mavericks frontman has had several surgeries and pulled out of tons of shows ever since he was diagnosed with cancer in June 2024.

Now, Malo has revealed that his cancer journey has taken a grave turn after getting diagnosed with an incurable strain of the disease.

“As it goes with cancer, it’s a very unpredictable and in-discriminatory disease,” the 60-year-old musician wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday, Sept. 24 before revealing that he has been diagnosed with Leptomeningeal disease (LMD).

LMD is a condition where cancer cells spread to the meninges, which are the thin membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, according to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Patients with LMD typically don’t live past a year after diagnosis. However, some may live longer with aggressive treatment.

In his Instagram post, Malo said that he will undergo radiation before jumping “into some chemo” and then look at “alternative therapies” to combat the disease.

Due to the nature of his situation, Malo had to cancel all his upcoming performances. However, he vowed that The Mavericks will “continue doing cool projects, releasing live recordings, merchandise, Trovador and so forth.”

The singer also advised fans to “hang on to your tickets for the Ryman in December, as we are planning something special there, and hope to announce that very soon.”

Malo then shared his personal thoughts surrounding his diagnosis.

“I want to let everybody know, I am in no way alone, or scared. I have an amazing wife and boys, wonderful family, team, road crew, band, friends and fans. I don’t even have enough words to describe the love and support that I’m getting right now,” he wrote. “To my friends who have sent me texts and messages, I want you to know that I’ve read them all. I can’t return them all, but your love, prayers, and well wishes have not gone unnoticed. We don’t know what this will look like a couple months from now, but we are going into it like we have with everything else. Full steam ahead. Fight, recover, rest, repeat.”

Malo went on to thank his fans for their “incredible support through all this” and apologize for the show cancelations.

He ended his post by encouraging his followers to “find kindness and empathy out there wherever you can.”

“Humans are alright, even if you don’t believe it from what you see on TV,” he added. “We will keep you informed as this goes, and I promise, no more bullfighting pictures without context.”

Malo, 60, has been publicly battling cancer since revealing his diagnosis in June 2024. He first underwent surgery to remove a tumor on his liver in late 2024 and returned to touring with The Mavericks in early 2025. Malo, however, was hospitalized only a short time after.

Malo has been actively updating fans on his cancer journey. He most recently had to cancel performances in New Haven, Verona and Boston earlier this month due to his condition.

“While Raul continues the long road to recovery, we hope you’ll still enjoy an incredible night of music with our great friends Dwight Yoakam and opener Philip Bowen,” a Sept. 11 post on Malo’s Instagram read. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and deeply appreciate your continued support during this time. — The Mavericks”