Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Now Fighting Cancer With Vegan & Organic Diet

I grew up listening to the music of the Beastie Boys and even though I proclaimed myself "New Wave" through and through, they were one of those bands that burst onto the scene, crossing all genres because hip-hop delivered by white boys was a relatively new and very novel thing.

It was easy to classify them as punk because they had a raw edge to their tunes and their lyrics were half flippant and half tongue-in-cheek, or so it seemed to be at the tender age of 12, so in my book they were a-okay.

As a lifelong fan, it saddened me to hear about the recent diagnosis of bass player Adam Yauch with salivary gland cancer -- the good news, however, is that since it was detected quite early and remains confined to just one area, doctors believe that his prognosis is very good.

Determined to battle his illness as naturally yet effectively as possible, Yauch spent a great deal of time this summer in the Tibetan community of Dharamsala where he convalesced following the removal of his tumor.

Now back in the states, he faces various additional treatments and possible follow-up surgery, but fortunately his vocal cords won't be compromised.

Most interestingly, at the suggestion of his Tibetan doctors, he's currently taking Tibetan medicine and consuming an entirely vegan/organic diet.

This is the most recent update that Yauch gave to his fans regarding his condition:

• "I'm feeling healthy, strong and hopeful that I've beaten this thing, but of course time will tell. I'm taking Tibetan medicine and at the recommendation of the Tibetan doctors I've been eating a vegan/organic diet, which surprisingly enough was harder to do in India than it is now that I'm back home. Here I can just shop for the right food and cook... a lot easier than depending on restaurants. When I was in India I visited an ani gompa (a nunnery) called Jamyang Choling. They did a Puja (religious ceremony) for me to help me get well. One nun said to me "we do prayers and then you are better." So i've got that going for me, which is nice."

Best wishes to him and his family for a full and speedy recovery!