Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi attended a cancer event in his hometown of Birmingham, UK on Wednesday.
The event at the city’s Bullring Shopping Centre is designed to bring awareness to Macmillan Cancer Support's "Not Alone" Isolation Box, which highlights the plight of lonely cancer patients in the UK.
The BBC reports Iommi – who was diagnosed with blood cancer lymphoma in January of 2012 – spent some time in the Isolation Box as shoppers gathered nearby.
The chamber is made from two-way mirrors that stop the inhabitant seeing out but allow other people to look in, while those inside the box can hear recordings of personal stories from cancer survivors.
"I was in a bubble for a while - just like the isolation box," said Iommi of his reaction to his own situation. “When I was diagnosed I was absolutely devastated. They're talking to me saying 'you've got stage three' and it's going in my head and I just felt somewhere else.
“And it was only later when I really broke down, I thought that's it, it's the end. And you really think that. But it's not. There are people who can help."
Iommi has undergone surgery and chemotherapy and said he was feeling well these days.
To learn more about the Macmillan Cancer Support and/or to donate, visit macmillan.org.uk
Iommi and Black Sabbath have plans to launch a farewell world tour in 2016.
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