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Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer ahead of the band's reunion tour in the spring.

The musician told that he had his prostate removed two months before the tour kicked off.

"Doctors said I wasn't going to be ready. That was brutal. I would be on stage looking at my amp in tears. Then you just... turn round and suck it up."

Commerford, 54, added that he had just had a test that "came back zero".

It is not clear exactly when the bassist was diagnosed, although the US star said the cancer was found after his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test numbers rose over 18 months until they were at a level where it made it impossible for him to get life insurance.

He told Spin he had been trying to find support groups and that "it was hard to talk about".

"Psychologically, the damage is severe. It's very hard for me to not break down and get emotional," he added.

Commerford said he wanted to raise awareness by doing the interview, having kept his diagnosis private for so long.

"I hope there's one person who reads this and is like, 'I need to get checked out' when they find out about it," he said.

Most of the band's reunion shows were postponed after frontman Zack De La Roche suffered a leg injury during the second night of the Public Service Announcement tour in Chicago in July.

The remaining dates from the North American leg were then cancelled in October, after De La Rocha explained he was suffering with a severe tear to his Achilles tendon. A headline slot at Reading and Leeds Festival was also scrapped, along with other European dates.

Rage Against The Machine are best known for their 1993 anti-authority anthem Killing in the Name.