Bruce Dickinson, the singer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden, is fighting tongue cancer. The band revealed the news on their site today and assured fans that the prognosis is “extremely good.”

The group said that Dickinson had a doctor’s appointment just before Christmas for a routine checkup, when the doctor discovered a cancerous tumor at the back of his tongue. On Wednesday, he finished a seven-week chemotherapy and radiology treatment.

“As the tumour was caught in the early stages, the prognosis thankfully is extremely good,” the group explained. “Bruce’s medical team fully expect him to make a complete recovery with the all clear envisaged by late May. It will then take a further few months for Bruce to get back to full fitness.”

The group said that they will post another update in May and asked for privacy for the singer and his family.

As USA Today notes, the 56-year-old Dickinson joined the group in the early 1980s and also has an interest in flying.

In March 2013, the band’s former drummer, Clive Burr, died at 56. He suffered from multiple sclerosis.

The group’s hits include “Run to the Hills” and “The Number of the Beast.”

image courtesy of INFevents.com