Eddie Van Halen suffered ‘rapid decline’ in final days: report

Van Halen’s son, Wolf, confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday in somber tweet

Rock ‘n’ roll icon Eddie Van Halen died on Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer, and the legendary guitarist was in a great deal of pain in his final days, sources close to him now reveal.

Van Halen’s son, Wolf, confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday in a somber tweet.

“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” he wrote on Twitter.

“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on stage and off stage was a gift,” Wolf continued. “My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”

He was 65. One source close to the famed rocker opened up to People magazine about his battle in the final days, claiming that his throat cancer existed for years, but it wasn’t until his last days that he suffered a “rapid decline.”

“Sadly, the hard-partying lifestyle physically takes its toll on you eventually,” the source told the outlet.

According to the insider, Van Halen’s throat cancer eventually spread to “all his organs.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, his family was by his side and committed to making sure he was “truly protected,” the source added.

“During the quarantine, everyone around Eddie was even more cautious about his health,” continued the source.

Despite Van Halen’s throat cancer being common knowledge to those close to him, “many” were “unaware of the extent of his illness,” a second source said.

According to TMZ, citing sources, Van Halen died at a Santa Monica hospital. Wolf, his brother Alex, and his wife, Janie, were by his side.

Van Halen’s ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, shared their son’s message on her own account along with breaking heart emojis. The two were married for 20 years.

Van Halen told Billboard magazine in 2015 that he had one-third of his tongue removed due to cancer that had also spread to his esophagus.

“I used metal picks — they’re brass and copper — which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” he said at the time. “Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that’s filled with electromagnetic energy. So that’s one theory. I mean, I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”