BLACK SABBATH’s TONY IOMMI Will Raffle One Of His Gibson Guitars To Support Cancer Centre Fundraising

Legendary Black Sabbath guitarist, Tony Iommi, has stepped onto a different kind of stage: the cancer centre at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital. Diagnosed with lymphoma, precisely at that hospital more than a decade ago, Iommi is helping launch a £150,000 fundraiser to refurbish the unit, raffling a mahogany Gibson SG from his personal stash to get the total moving.

“We’re putting it up to raise some money for the stuff they need here – I hope it does raise a lot,” Iommi said (via BBC).

Reflecting on his diagnosis and treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma 12 years back, and on a friend’s lung cancer care at the same hospital, Iommi recounted the dreadful times: “To be honest, when I was told I’ve got lymphoma, I went, ‘Oh, what’s that?’ I didn’t know what it was, and then of course they explained to me what it was, and it was a terrible shock. It’s really hard when you’re going through that.”

“You just never think until you’re in that situation, and I know how difficult it is and how they feel, and I like to be able to give something back and be involved and help,” he continued.

The appeal is aimed at practical improvements: comfort-first upgrades like new chemotherapy chairs that make long sessions less punishing. Consultant haematologist Shankara Paneesha is direct about what that means for patients: it’s “fantastic”. He added, “Some of the additional support which the charities can provide does make the journey for our patients much better.”

That focus on comfort echoes Iommi’s own memory of walking in for his first appointment: “The more comfortable you can make the patient, the better”.

He carries that thought forward to the ward itself: “I know when I was in, they treated me so well, that everybody was so nice, the nurses were nice, everybody was great, and that’s what you need. To have the right environment means a hell of a lot because you’re sitting there a while being treated.”

“People will have a window of opportunity,” Iommi clarified, while also saying he would announce on his social media when the raffle goes live. “[It will be] a month to go on and purchase the raffle ticket.”