Mark Hoppus recently shared details about his cancer diagnosis and treatment in a new interview. When doctors discovered his cancer, they told him he had a 60% chance of survival with R-CHOP chemotherapy. “You only have a 60% chance of living through this and never having to deal with it again,” Hoppus explained. He described chemotherapy as feeling like being crushed. The treatment involved a heavy dose of steroids that made him feel hyper, followed by drugs that felt like they were burning the cancer cells out of his body.
Hoppus also talked about his life on a 25-acre farm in Somerset, where he lives in a Georgian farmhouse built in 1750. He keeps chickens named after women in his band’s songs, like Wendy, Holly, and Josie. With help from the British Beekeeping Association, he harvested honey, saying, “It was crazy how much honey we got — up to 150 jars a season. It was the best honey I’ve ever tasted.”
When asked about his favorite bass players, Hoppus named Peter Hook from New Order, Simon Gallup from The Cure, and both bassists from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, a band known for having two bassists in the early ’90s. “Bass players are just cool,” he said. “We’re the glue that brings it all together.”
The interview also touched on his bandmate Tom DeLonge’s fascination with UFOs. Hoppus recalled how DeLonge would spend nights looking at the sky during tours, hoping to spot something unusual.
Hoppus is currently promoting his memoir, Fahrenheit-182, which is out now. He will be speaking at the Melbourne Recital Hall on March 19 and the Sydney Opera House on March 21.
