Updated June 12th, 2023

The Sweet Way Cher Honored Ex-Husband Musician Gregg Allman After He Died of Liver Cancer at 69 – Progress Being Made for the Disease

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Honoring An Influential Musician

Gregg Allman, of the legendary rock band The Allman Brothers Band, died on May 27, 2017, at 69 years old after a long battle with liver cancer.
Allman was remembered by one of his ex-wives, singer Cher, as a “musical genius” and “mystery to all of us at times.”
It’s unclear what led to Allman’s liver cancer, but we do know he had two risk factors: he struggled with alcohol and he had hepatitis C.
Liver cancer diagnoses have more than tripled since 1980, according to the American Cancer Society, which predicts approximately 41,210 new cases of primary liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer will be diagnosed in 2023.
According to John Hopkins Medicine, there have been liver cancer treatment advances over recent years seen within chemotherapy, intra-arterial therapies, liver tumor ablation techniques, and liver transplants.

When legendary rocker Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band passed from lung cancer in 2017 at the age of 69, ex-wife and superstar Cher made sure to honor him in a sweet way with his children – showing that their love endured beyond their breakup.

Gregg Allman pictured circa 1970 (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Remembered for his role in the legendary rock band The Allman Brothers Band, musician and distinct vocalist Gregg Allman was nothing short of incredible. He died on May 27, 2017, at 69 years old.

The iconic guitarist was known for the band’s hit songs including “Midnight Rider,” “Rambling Man,” and “Dreams.” He shares son Elijah Blue with the “Goddess of Pop,” one of his several ex-wives who he married in 1975.

The day Cher attended his funeral, she tweeted, “2day we were with our beloved Gregory, tomorrow we say goodbye. He was shy. He Was a KIND, LOVING man. The Sadness is immeasurable 4 all.”

On the day he was laid to rest, she also took to Twitter, writing, “Gregory’s children are AMAZING. We Spent hard day, Then went 2 Gregory house. We reminisced & watched [sun] Set. I’m so proud of em…THEY’RE ALLMANS.”

Final goodbye to a Musical Genius?He was,sweet,shy,Loving,man,AND a mystery to all of us at times.He had demons & he fought them.We ?'d Him
— Cher (@cher) June 4, 2017

She concluded her warm words with an additional tweet later that day, which read, “Final goodbye to a Musical Genius He was, sweet, shy, Loving, man, AND a mystery to all of us at times.

“He had demons & he fought them. We [love]’d Him.”

The two divorced in 1978, but it’s clear Allman held a special place in Cher’s heart.

Allmann, who was previously open about his struggle with cirrhosis (a condition where your liver is scarred and permanently damaged), hepatitis C (a viral infection that causes liver inflammation), and substance abuse, kept his liver cancer diagnosis a secret. When he was first diagnosed is unclear.

Gregg Allman and Cher pictured at their California home in 1977 (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

However, in 2012, it was publicized that Allman received a liver transplant to fight the disease, ultimately putting him into a brief remission.

Two years after that, the disease returned and Allman was informed he had about one year to 18 months left to live.

Allman ultimately chose not to go through treatment, and despite battling the disease on his own, he proved to be a true rock star and continued to perform music for five additional years until he passed away.

His last solo album, “Southern Blood,” was released following his death. His album was created as a tribute and “thank you” to his loved ones who supported him throughout his cancer journey.

About Liver Cancer

Liver cancer diagnoses have more than tripled since 1980, according to the American Cancer Society, which predicts approximately 41,210 new cases of primary liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer will be diagnosed in 2023, consisting of about 27,980 men and 13,230 women.

Additionally, about 29,380 people (19,000 men and 10,380 women) are expected to die of these types of cancers this year, a death rate that has more than doubled over the past 40 years.

Liver cancer is a disease that starts out in the liver, an organ located beneath the diaphragm and above the stomach.

Symptoms of liver cancer can include unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), and nausea.

There are also several risk factors associated with the disease, one of them being excessive alcohol consumption. Other risk factors include a family history of the disease, diabetes, an infection of hepatitis B or C, and exposure to aflatoxins (poisons produced by mold).

We don’t know what led to Allman’s cancer, but he had said he struggled with alcohol and we know he had hepatitis C.

Blood tests, ultrasounds, CT scans (X-ray images), MRIs (medical imaging), and angiograms are commonly used to confirm whether a patient has a liver cancer diagnosis. A liver biopsy, where a small piece of tissue is removed and analyzed for cancerous cells, may also be performed.

Liver Treatment Advancements Over Recent Years

According to John Hopkins Medicine, there have been liver cancer treatment advances over recent years seen within chemotherapy, intra-arterial therapies, liver tumor ablation techniques, and liver transplants.

“In the past decade, chemotherapy has seen revolutionary research advances. With newer medications, patients are living longer after receiving just chemotherapy,” John Hopkins explains.

“Chemotherapy is either given alone or combined with other therapies. In many cases, chemotherapy treatment can shrink the size of tumors so that they can be more readily removed surgically.”

Meanwhile, intra-arterial therapies allow for “chemoembolization beads” to “deliver cancer-killing medication to the tumor through the artery.” It has been learned that the beads are able to block blood from flowing to the tumor, which prevents it from getting bigger.

According to John Hopkins, chemoembolization is “effective either alone or in combination with chemotherapy in treating and or reducing the size of tumors.”

And patients that aren’t able to qualify for transplantation can become eligible following chemoembolization and chemotherapy, as it allows for the tumor to decrease in size.

Thirdly, John Hopkins explains that ablation therapies are able to kill a tumor in the liver instead of having it removed.

“In these techniques, doctors use a probe to kill tumors with hot energy. This minimally invasive approach is most effective for smaller tumors less than 3 cm,” John Hopkins says.

Lastly, liver transplantation has been proven to be the “most effective treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, a common type of liver cancer.”

Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions

John Hopkins notes that “if a patient has liver disease, such as cirrhosis, liver transplantation can also further reduce further the risk of recurrence following treatment.”

However, patients need to check if they are eligible to receive this treatment.

Liver Cancer Research

It seems more advancements will come soon as researchers, funded by the National Cancer Insitute(NCI), are continuing to look into better ways of prevention, early detection, and treatment of liver cancer in both adults and children.

Researchers are also looking for biomarkers that can offer more insight into the stages of cancer and how it can react to certain therapy.

According to the NCI, researchers are also trying to understand why more people in the U.S. are developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) than ever before.

Meanwhile, “a common risk factor for HCC is chronic infection with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus,” which Allman had. A vaccine for the hepatitis B virus already exists, but researchers are currently developing and testing one for the hepatitis C virus.

“Liver cancer that is diagnosed at an early stage has a good chance of being cured with surgery, surgery plus liver transplantation, or treatments such as radiofrequency ablation,” the NCI adds.

“Researchers are working to develop tests that better detect early-stage liver cancer. They are also trying to figure out who is most at risk for liver cancer and most likely to benefit from these tests.”