Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has revealed he has recently been declared “free and clear” after a battle against throat cancer.

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Newsted succeeded the late Cliff Burton on bass for the metal icons in 1986, playing on many of their most successful records until walking away from the band in 2001.

During a recent appearance on the Let There Be Talk podcast, Newsted opened up for the first time in public about his diagnosis, confirming that doctors were able to catch it early and that he has now been declared cancer-free.

He told host Dean Delray that on May 8, it will be exactly one year since he “underwent a procedure for throat cancer.”

“And so they took a bunch of shit outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of shit out,” he explained (via Blabbermouth ). “So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago.…