QUIET RIOT’s FRANKIE BANALI: ‘There Is No Question As To What Will Eventually Kill Me’

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QUIET RIOT drummer Frankie Banali, who has been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer for the past 14 months, offered an update on his health during a recent interview with Of Personal Interest. Asked how he is feeling at the moment, Frankie said: "Well, I was originally diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, which has now metastasized to my liver, back in April of 2019. At that point, you know, the prognosis was that I would probably die by October of last year. I basically had a six-month window left. So when you consider the fact that we are here talking to each other in June of 2020, it means I've managed to make it past the one-year line. "Listen, I'm still very conscious of the fact that I'm at Stage 4 with one of the deadliest cancers there is," he continued. "My prognosis to survive one to five years is only 10%. So, I just continue to fight the good fight. Even as we're chatting now, I'm hooked up to an IV that I have to do 18 hours every day at the moment… The reason this treatment takes 18 hours is because of its huge amount of volume. I mean, this is the biggest IV bag I've ever seen. So it has to be monitored with a digital pump because it only can be administered a little bit at a time. I have mobility if I want to carry the pack around, but for the most part, I'm pretty much tethered to this thing." Speaking about his remarkably pragmatic attitude about his situation, Frankie said: "I think that's always been a part of my DNA, my psychological makeup. I've always told people that I am not an optimist or a pessimist. I'm a realist. I look at the facts as they're presented to me and try to vet that information as much as possible because even with all the advances that have been made in medicine regarding cancer, there haven't been many advances in regard to pancreatic cancer. So I'm a realist about it and I try to make the most of every day. I find some sort of joy in everything I look at. And we're all gonna go some time, right? There is just no question as to what will eventually kill me. The only question really is when will it happen?" You can still contribute to Frankie's GoFundMe campaign to help with his medical expenses. Banali was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas. He has been in treatment since last spring and recently started his 21st round of chemotherapy with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer. Banali went public with his diagnosis last October, writing in a social media post that the cancer treatment had forced him to miss several live shows with the band. He was replaced at those gigs by either Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician's availability. QUIET RIOT's shows last year with Kelly and Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup: Banali, singer Kevin DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Rudy Sarzo. Banali played his first show with QUIET RIOT since he announced his cancer diagnosis in October at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. The drummer resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of founding member DuBrow. QUIET RIOT's latest studio album, "Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November via Frontiers Music Srl.