My Life Is in God's Hands

BATTLING STOMACH CANCER SINCE 2021, COUNTRY STAR TOBY KEITH STARTLES FANS WITH HIS FRAIL APPEARANCE, BUT HIS FAITH IS STRONG.

TOBY KEITH’s appearance shocked fans at the People’s Choice Country Awards Sept. 28 in Nashville. The formerly burly “Red Solo Cup” singer’s 6-foot-4 frame, once clocking in at 235 pounds, looked gaunt, the result of his battle with stomach cancer, which he announced last June. “You get good days, and, you know, you’re up and down,” said the 62-year-old, who took home the Country Icon Award during the ceremony. “But I feel good today.”

The good days can be few and far between. “It’s always zero to 60 and 60 to zero,” the Oklahoma native has said of his illness. “It’s a roller coaster.” Throughout more than a year of treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, the country star has leaned on his family — wife Tricia Lucus and their three adult children — and looked to a higher power. “I lean on my faith, and I just pray and lean into it,” he’s said. “It was my rock.”

FINDING STRENGTH