Elton John recalled the time when doctors told him he only had 24 hours to live.

In John’s new memoir, Me, John talked about how he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer while planning his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

While the cancer surgery had initially gone well, the musician had started feeling ill again while on the road. John ended up being in pain for over two months with leaking lymph nodes that resulted in a colostomy.

John was later told that if he’d stayed on tour for one more day, he would’ve died. He spent a further 11 days in the hospital before going back home to fully recover.

Read the full story on Ultimate Classic Rock.