How Did Bob Marley Die? What to Know About the Singer’s Early Death
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The musical biopic Bob Marley: One Love—now streaming on Paramount+ and available for digital purchase on platforms like Apple TV+ and Prime Video—sheds light on the iconic reggae singer’s later years, including his self-imposed exile from Jamaica following a 1976 assassination attempt and his return for the historic One Love Peace Concert in 1978. But as Marley’s music continued to gain popularity throughout the world in the late ’70s, the star began facing a grim health diagnosis in private.
Doctors discovered Marley had acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in 1977. The singer continued to perform and record music after his diagnosis, but the illness ultimately spread and took a severe physical toll on Marley, who refused a primary form of treatment.
Marley died from complications of cancer at the young age of 36 on May 11, 1981—leaving music fans to wonder what might have happened if Marley had made a different choice about his health. Here is what you need to know about his cancer diagnosis and how it affected the musician.
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What is acral lentiginous melanoma?
Acral lentiginous melanoma is a rare type of skin cancer that only develops on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, or underneath nails. According to a September 2022 article from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, the disease makes up only 5 percent of new melanoma diagnoses each year.
Because it develops on areas usually shielded from sunlight, ALM is not believed to be linked to ultraviolet ray exposure. However, the true cause isn’t exactly clear. According to dermatologist Kelly Nelson, many patients describe a history of trauma to the affected area. Pressure on the feet and genetics could also be factors.
How was Marley diagnosed?
Marley was first diagnosed with ALM in July 1977 after seeking medical treatment for what he believed to be an injury from playing soccer.
What treatment did Marley receive?
According to the AIM at Melanoma Foundation, there was a lack of effective treatments other than surgery at the time. Upon discovering the cancer on Marley’s right toe, doctors recommended amputation. However, the musician refused the treatment because his Rastafarian beliefs prohibited it. Marley did agree to have some of the skin and tissue around his nail bed removed and replaced with skin from his thigh
The singer didn’t attend routine follow-up appointments after his diagnosis, and his cancer ultimately metastasized. Chemotherapy was available but typically ineffective because cancerous melanocyte cells don’t respond to it. According to AIM at Melanoma, Marley was treated at multiple clinics specializing in cancer, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
In the fall of 1980, Marley collapsed while jogging in Central Park—prompting doctors to discover the cancer had spread throughout his body, including his lungs, brain, and liver. According to The New Yorker, a doctor at Sloan Kettering said Marley had “more cancer in him than I’ve seen with a live human being” and gave the singer only a few months to live. Still, Marley received radiation therapy to shrink tumors in his lungs and liver.
How did Bob Marley die?
An ill Marley played his final show with his band, the Wailers, on September 23, 1980, in Pittsburgh and continued to seek treatment. His body had severely weakened, with even his easily recognizable dreadlocked hair becoming too heavy for his frame.
According to BobMarley.com, the singer battled the disease for another eight months, attending the clinic of Dr. Josef Issels in Germany for alternative treatment. When this didn’t help, Marley decided to fly to Jamaica to spend his final days there. However, Marley’s vital functions deteriorated while in flight, forcing an emergency landing in Miami.
Marley died of complications from the disease on May 11, 1981, at the Florida city’s Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He received a state funeral days later in Jamaica, with hundreds of thousands of fans mourning his death and helping to ensure his musical legacy would go on.
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