PRETTY MAIDS' RONNIE ATKINS On His Cancer Battle: 'It's Something You've Gotta Learn To Live With'

PRETTY MAIDS singer Ronnie Atkins, who is battling stage four cancer, offered an update on his condition during a recent interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com. He said (see video below): "My health is really good. Well, the diagnosis is what it is, but I'm feeling good at the time. I've just actually been through some troubled weeks, because there was another cancer scare, but [it's a] long story; I went through a lot of biopsies and stuff. Well, that was no cancer cells in the biopsy, and I was told that on Friday, so I'm super happy.

"I'm going to need these scans every third month, and every time is very nerve-racking for me and my wife and kids," he continued. "You never know what you'll get told, 'cause last time when I had that serious stage four diagnosis when it spread, I didn't actually feel any pain. You never know what awaits you.

"Dealing with this disease is like a mental thing — it's there in the subconscious 24/7. But it's something you've gotta learn to live with. I can't change what it is — it is what it is. So let's get the best out of it."

The 56-year-old Atkins was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019 and underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments in the fall of that year before being declared cancer-free. In October 2020, he announced that his cancer had returned.

Atkins's new solo album, "One Shot", will be released on March 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. Ronnie put the songs together with good friend and PRETTY MAIDS bandmate and producer Chris Laney. Chris oversaw production, Jacob Hansen mixed, and musicians/singers appearing on the album include, in addition to Laney, Allan Sørensen, Morten Sandager, Pontus Egberg, Pontus Norgren, Kee Marcello, Olliver Hartmann, John Berg, Anders Ringman, Linnea Vikström Egg and Björn Strid.

In a 2013 interview with Myglobalmind, Atkins joked that the secret to keeping his voice in shape was "twenty cigarettes a day and little drink now and then."

Formed in early 1982 by Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS quickly established itself as a band to be taken seriously. In April 1987, "Future World", the band's third album recorded in the USA, was released to great acclaim and is still today regarded as a "classic."

After the release of the follow-up album "Jump The Gun" (produced by DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover),PRETTY MAIDS in 1991 were on the verge of a breakup. However, Hammer and Atkins found a new rhythm section and in 1992 released the "Sin - Decade", a record that would reveal that PRETTY MAIDS was still a force to be reckoned with, despite the fact that the metal scene now was overrun by the grunge movement. "Sin - Decade" became a huge success in Japan and gave the band a big radio hit with the single "Please Don't Leave Me", laying the foundation for the band in the East that would last for the next decade.

During the ensuing years, PRETTY MAIDS continued to release albums usually followed by European and Japanese tours.

PRETTY MAIDS' latest album, "Undress Your Madness", was released in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.