Is John Tesh OK? Composer was ‘back in the trenches’ after cancer relapse in 2020
Pianist and composer John Tesh was told to get his affairs in order after his first cancer diagnosis in 2015. Yet, over half a decade later, he's still around and in no mood to surrender. In a new interview, Tesh has confirmed he was in readmission back in October 2020 but is doing even better this time around. He credits that improvement to his wife, actress Connie Sellecca, and said without her "I wouldn't have made it."
Tesh is far from the only celebrity battling for their life. As we revealed in early September, actor Nicholas Brendon is paralyzed and in "immense pain", but alive and very much fighting his Cauda equina syndrome diagnosis. 'Harry Potter' star Tom Felton collapsed during a celebrity golf game in late September but is now on the mend. The same month, we also reported on WWE star Triple H's cardiac event, which required surgery.
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Thankfully, all the stars appear to be alive and doing well, as is Tesh. The pianist will host his first live steaming concert on October 9, an event dedicated to the "healing power of God's word" and his battle with cancer. If you are wondering if he's in a position to host the concert, the good news is it appears he is!
Is John Tesh ok?
Speaking to People, Tesh opened up about the dark days of his first cancer diagnosis. "When you're in that situation — we thought I was terminally ill — that identity gives you a lot of free rein," he said. Apart from copious amounts of Vicodin, Tesh also drank heavily, saying, "people look the other way when you're drinking scotch every night and mixing the two." He seemed ready to accept the inevitable, but his wife quickly decided it wasn't the end.
"Ultimately my wife and I went toe-to-toe and she said, 'I am not going to abide this. This is my battle too. And you're giving up.'" He added, "If she hadn't been my advocate and such a brilliant study of prostate cancer, I wouldn't have made it." In fact, Sellecca got so involved in Tesh's treatments, numerous doctors reportedly asked her if she was "in the medical field." He recovered, was about to go on tour, and then the pandemic hit. It was quickly followed by remission.
"I woke up with an enormous amount of pain one morning in October 2020," he said. "It turned out there were two tumors around either side of my pelvis and wrapped around my organs," Tesh explained. Five years after first being diagnosed with prostate cancer, the disease was back, forcing Tesh "back into the trenches." Thanks to his previous experience, Tesh was more prepared this time around. After several surgeries and chemotherapy treatments, he's now on the mend and cancer-free, albeit with only one functional kidney and no prostate.
'This is a couple's disease'
Taking lessons from his own experience, Tesh is now focused on helping other families. "This is a couple's disease; it affects the whole family," he said. "We made it clear to our doctors that if there were couples going through this battle, especially with prostate cancer, here's our phone number. Because prostate cancer breaks up marriages, it breaks up relationships." But he's not stopping with just those referred to by his doctors.
On October 9, Tesh will host a live stream concert, but it's so much more than that. He said, "There's going to be a lot on there about hope and motivation and stories of healing. I'll be talking to people and answering people's questions about what I did." Those discussions will be interspersed with 12 songs about inspiration and hope. Described as an "intimate event from a cabin in the woods", the stream will start at 8:00 PM Eastern and 5:00 PM Pacific time via his website. Tickets cost $14 and can be purchased from the same site.