This year has been a painful one, and it isn’t over yet.
The rocker’s tragic death was announced by his son, Wolfgang Van Halen.
“He was the best father I could ever ask for.
Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift.
My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”
TMZreported that Van Halen had been battling cancer for over a decade.
Van Halen speculated that the cancer was resulting from his guitar picks.
“Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that’s filled with electromagnetic energy.
So that’s one theory.
I mean, I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything.
But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear.
This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”
As Dr. Tom Micklewright toldInsider, though, Van Halen’s smoking was the most likely culprit.
“Ed’s not doing well,” he told theLas Vegas Review-Journalin January.
His son, Wolfgang, and brother, Alex, were also there.
