(CNN) — Elvis Costello has canceled the remaining six dates of his European tour to recover from surgery to treat what the musician calls “a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy,” according to a statement posted to his website.
The canceled dates of Costello’s European tour include shows in the United Kingdom, Croatia and Austria.
Costello said his surgery took place six weeks ago and was so successful, he decided to go on with plans for his European tour. However, he has now realized he must “accept that it is going to take longer than I would have wished for me to recover my full strength,” the statement said.
“Post-surgical guidelines for such surgery, recommend three weeks to four weeks recovery depending on whether you are returning to a desk job or an occupation that involves physical work or travel,” he wrote. “It was impossible to judge how this advisory would line up with the demands on a traveling musician, playing 90-minute to 2-hour plus performances on a nightly basis but by the time we reached the Edinburgh Playhouse, I was almost fooled into thinking that normal service had been resumed.”
Ticket holders can go to point of purchase for refunds.
Costello said he and his band, The Imposters, plan to release a new record in October.
Costello did not go into detail about the nature of his cancer, but shared a message about the importance of health screenings.
“Take very good care of your loved ones but Gentleman, do talk to you friends — you’ll find you are not alone — seek your doctor’s advice if you are in doubt or when it is timely and act as swiftly as you may in these matters,” he added. “It may save your life. Believe me, it is better than playing roulette.”
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