Testament frontman Chuck Billy has reflected on his cancer battle, describing how chemotherapy, a positive mindset, and a spiritual healing from a Native American healer helped him stay mentally focused throughout the experience, in an interview with Revolver. The remarks came as Billy discussed spiritual healers mentioned in material for his book.
Billy was asked what spiritual healers offered that traditional medicine did not. He explained that he does not claim to have all the answers, but rather knows what he needed to do to get through his cancer.
Question: “I noticed there was mention of spiritual healers in the public relations material for the book. What did that offer that traditional medicine didn’t?”
“Well, I don’t have an answer,” Billy said. “People came to me for answers after I beat cancer, and I don’t have one. I just know what I had to do to get through it. A positive, strong mindset definitely helps big time. I was doing chemo, and I was very fortunate to not get ill. I lost all my hair, but I never really got ill from it. I seem to have gotten through it in that sense.”
“But then there’s the whole story about my friend Nancy telling me, after a show in LA, that she’d had a dream that me and Charlie [a Native American healer] were sitting around a fire, putting on war paint and about to go into battle together. I’m kind of like, ‘Ok, we’re partying at the Rainbow. Whatever, Nancy. Let’s order some more drinks.'”
“And then Charlie showed up at my house unannounced and gave me a healing. It was a very strong healing, and probably the most important one, because he predicted what was going to happen — the wind and my spirit guide and all that. Once I started going down that path, it kept me mentally focused away from what else I was doing. I was on this path, and I was going to get a positive result.”
“That’s just the way I am. And again, holding my breath, I was just being the stubborn guy, trying to get my way and get through this the way I knew how. That’s how I got through the whole thing. Especially the Native part of it, because it was so unbelievable and unreal. It made me look at spirituality, religion, all that, a little bit differently, because of the things I saw and experienced during that. So it was pretty heavy, man.”
Billy made these remarks while discussing his cancer battle and the role spiritual healing played alongside medical treatment.
Billy was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and received a diagnosis of germ cell seminoma, a rare form of cancer. He treated the condition by combining modern chemotherapy with traditional Native American medicinal techniques and was cancer free by 2002. The diagnosis led Testament to go on temporary hiatus, with a nine year gap between the band’s 1999 album “The Gathering” and their return with 2008’s “The Formation of Damnation”.
Billy’s friend introduced him to Charlie, a Native American medicine man. She told Billy about a dream in which he and Charlie were sitting around a campfire preparing for battle together. When Charlie arrived at Billy’s home during his cancer treatment, he performed a healing ceremony and told Billy that the wind would be his spirit guide to get through the illness.
Billy’s recovery and the spiritual experiences he had during his cancer battle changed his perspective on faith and spirituality. The experience led him to see religion and spiritual practices differently based on what he witnessed and experienced during that time. Testament’s classic lineup reunited in 2005 following Billy’s successful recovery, bringing together Billy, guitarist Eric Peterson, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Greg Christian, and drummer Louie Clemente.
Billy is publishing a memoir titled Holding My Breath, which will be released on November 10, 2026. The book is divided into two parts: the “Old Testament” covering his music career, and the “New Testament” detailing his cancer diagnosis and recovery. The memoir includes contributions from fellow metal musicians, with a foreword by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and an afterword by Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe.
