AILING YAUCH THANKS JAY-Z AND COLDPLAY FOR FESTIVAL TRIBUTES

BEASTIE BOYS star ADAM YAUCH has thanked fans and peers for their support as he battles cancer in a new email.

The rapper, aka MCA, announced doctors had found a tumour in his left salivary gland last month (Jul09) and underwent surgery to remove the cancer last week (beg27Jul09).

He pulled out of last weekend’s (31Jul09-02Aug09) All Points West festival in New Jersey, and all promotional activity and commitments surrounding the release of the Beastie Boys’ new album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 have been cancelled or postponed.

But, in a new note to fans, Yauch reveals he’s back at home and grateful for the outpouring support - especially from the Beastie Boys’ APW replacements Jay-Z and Coldplay.

He writes, “(I) saw the jay-z cover of no sleep (sic), and the coldplay one of fight for your right from APW on youtube. good s**t. and i heard karen o (Yeah Yeah Yeahs star) wore a ‘get well MCA’ armband, and that q-tip gave a shout out too… very kind of them.

“(I) just wanted to thank them and everyone else who sent positive thoughts my way. i do think that all of the well wishes have contributed to the fact that my treatment and recovery are going well.”

Yauch reveals he’s now preparing for “the next line of treatment,” which will include a seven-week course of radiation.

He adds, “I’m pretty well detoxed from the anesthesia (sic) that they pumped me up with to keep me under for all that time. that took several days to get out of my system. my neck and jaw are still pretty stiff from the surgery, but it gets better everyday. had the stitches out this past monday… so things are moving along.

“No sooner am i on the mend from this first torture than are they lining up the next one. the next line of treatment will be radiation. that involves blasting you with some kind of beam for a few minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 7 weeks. that will start in a few weeks.”