Toby Keith offers Touring update while recovering from stomach cancer

Toby Keith makes plans to hit the road again during his recovery from stomach cancer.

“I feel pretty good. Actually, everything is in a very positive trend,” said the 61-year-old country singer The Oklahoman earlier this month. “You never know with cancer, so you have to prepare.”

Keith said he wanted to see if he had the energy for a full show before confirming a tour. ‘I have more wind. And I’m thinking about bringing the band in and setting it up, playing somewhere for two or three days, just to see if I can make it through the two hours,” he continued.

However, the “Beer for My Horses” artist hopes to be “on the road” later this fall.

“All I have to do is see if I can work two or three nights and take a little break from this chemo, and then we’ll go back to work,” Keith noted. “I’m done. That’s life.”

The Oklahoma native confirmed he is still undergoing chemotherapy for his stomach cancer, but his blood tests have improved and his tumor has shrunk by a third.

“I’m about eight weeks away from my last scan,” the songwriter added. “So I expect the next time I look for that tumor to be even less — and I only have one that showed up.”

Toby Keith Mediapunch/Shutterstock

The health update comes a year after Keith revealed he’s taking a step back to recover amid health challenges. “I was diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall,” he wrote via Instagram in June 2022. “I have had chemo, radiation and surgery for the past 6 months. So far, so good.”

Keith, who shares three children with his wife Tricia Lucas, explained that he needed a break and added: “I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I look forward to spending this time with my family.”

That same month, the “Red Solo Cup” singer thanked his fans for their reaction to the news. “Thank you for all your love and support,” he wrote on Instagram. “I have the best fans in the world.”

Keith later said he was optimistic about the future during treatment. “I’m thinking about getting back in shape,” he shared during a December 2022 interview on CMT Hot 20 Countdown. “I need some time to just rest and heal.”

At the time, the musician called chemotherapy and radiation “pretty debilitating” for him. “As long as everything stays tidy, we’ll be looking at something good in the future,” he noted.