Country singer Toby Keith announces he has stomach cancer

Country singer Toby Keith announced Sunday on social media that he has been privately battling stomach cancer.

>> Read more trending news

The “As Good as I Once Was” singer, 60, posted on Twitter that he had cancer and has spent the last six months receiving chemotherapy, WKRN-TV reported.

“Last fall I was diagnosed with stomach cancer,” Keith wrote, “I’ve spent the last six months receiving chemo, radiation, and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax.

“I am looking forward to spending this time with my family, but I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”

Keith has been a force on the Billboard country music charts, scoring 20 No. 1 hits. He has an additional 21 songs that have reached Billboard’s top-10 and has charted 61 country singles overall.

His 2003 duet with Willie Nelson, “Beer for My Horses,” stayed at No. 1 for six weeks. “As Good as I Once Was,” released in 2005, also topped the charts for six weeks.

Other No. 1 hits for Keith include his breakthrough 1993 hit, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Keith, who was inducted into the Hall in 2015, also scored No. 1 hits with “I Love This Bar,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Who’s Your Daddy?,” “American Soldier” and “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).”

“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” was Keith’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was a crossover hit in 2002, reaching No. 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 26

Toby Keith through the years Toby Keith, left, and Willie Nelson perform at the BMI Country Awards in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey/AP)

©2022 Cox Media Group