Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Contemplated Suicide During Chemo

Blink-182 bassist-vocalist Mark Hoppus said he had suicidal thoughts while undergoing "brutal" cancer treatment.  

Hoppus revealed he was diagnosed with lymphoma in April 2021. While he put up a brave front, behind the scenes things were different. Speaking in an interview with People, Hoppus said he felt despondent after his first chemotherapy treatment and confided in his wife, who gave him a wakeup call. 

"I was in our living room crying and telling my wife, 'I don't know if I can do this,' " Hoppus, 50, said. "She was like, 'Well, what are you going to do, kill yourself?' And that's exactly what I was thinking. It was pretty dark."

Hoppus was thrown into a deep depression after receiving the cancer diagnosis and struggled with thoughts of wanting to give up before speaking with his wife. 

"It was a total snap-out-of-it moment," he said. "I was like, 'What a s***ty thing to say.' But also, what a kind thing to say, like, 'Snap out of it, you f***ing baby. You have a beatable form of cancer. It's going to suck to get there, but get there.' I had to do the work."

During the interview, Hoppus also opened up about the treatment he was receiving at the time, saying that the "chemotherapy was brutal."

"I had no energy and ended up being on the couch just trying to get through the day," he said. "I had the worst brain fog. We were sitting at dinner with friends that we've known for years, and I'm looking at the husband across the table, thinking to myself, 'I can't remember your first name.' And it was like that all the time.

"I still feel it once every couple days — I'll forget a word — but it's much better."

On Sept. 29, 2021, exactly five months after he was diagnosed, doctors declared Hoppus cancer free. He did not miss a beat in sharing the news on social media. 

"Just saw my oncologist and I'm cancer free!!" he wrote in a statement on Instagram. "Thank you God and universe and friends and family and everyone who sent support and kindness and love."

Hoppus said he will still have to go for scans every six months, and it will take him until the end of the year to "get back to normal," but "today is an amazing day and I feel so blessed."

Speaking with People, Hoppus said he was "doing good."

"The recovery is taking a lot longer than I had hoped, but I am in a much better place," he said. "I feel like I have a second shot at life."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

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