Joseph Kobzon: how he fought the disease

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The name of Joseph Kobzon has become not only the standard of song culture and performing skills on the Soviet and Russian stage. For many a compatriot, the singer became an example of determination and courage, a demanding attitude towards himself and respect for people, the ability to withstand life's trials, including the disease he had been struggling with for many years.

Kobzon showed how to live and work, having a history of cancer, which he had. Until now, this diagnosis is a verdict for many, which cannot be said about the singer who resisted the fatal disease for many years.

Fifteen years of struggle and life

The health problems of the famous singer Joseph Kobzon began at the turn of the 2000s. Then the singer was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and a hernia in the spine. He led such an active life that he escaped from a military hospital with a catheter inserted under his collarbone to the Assembly of CIS countries in Kazakhstan. The doctors objected, but he did not listen. After three days of meetings and concerts, the performer returned in a disastrous state, with progressive blood poisoning, which happened precisely through the catheter.

The doctors then barely managed to bring the performer back to life after a two-week stay in a coma. All body functions recovered over time, and Kobzon returned to creative and political activity, to a full life.

However, two or three years later, during the examination, a malignant tumor - cancer was found in Joseph Davydovich, after which the singer began to courageously resist a serious illness. He had a powerful incentive to fight for life: a big family, true friends, his work, social work and great love for the Motherland and the audience.

Echoes of Chernobyl

It is known that Joseph Kobzon began to visit hot spots from the early period of his work. For the first time, he gave a concert in front of the border guards after a few days of the post-war conflict on Damansky Island, which happened in 1969.

There was Kobzon in the warring Afghanistan - not one, not two, but nine times, even came under fire there. In 1988, one of the first representatives of culture flew to Armenia, destroyed by a terrible earthquake.

In the 90s, he came to speak many times in then-troubled Chechnya, then to Kaspiysk immediately after the terrorist attack on May 9 during the Victory Day celebrations. In the recent past, being already seriously ill, he gave a concert on the eve of February 23 at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria.

But there is one thing in the history of Joseph Kobzon's performances that stands apart and, possibly, seriously affected his health. In 1986, no more than a month and a half after the explosion of a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this courageous man spoke to those liquidators who then went to the accident zone.

Everything happened about a kilometer from the exploded reactor, he sang live for four hours, without even protecting himself with a respirator.

Confronting the disease

The type of cancer that Joseph Kobzon had is among the most common cancers. A malignant neoplasm has affected one of the most vulnerable male organs - the prostate gland. Doctors did everything to slow the progression of the disease.

The first attempt to remove prostate cancer was made in 2005 in Germany. The German surgeon was assisted by the best Russian doctors.

After surgery, it was not possible to avoid serious consequences:

• significant and sharp weakening of the immune system;
• blood clots in the lungs;
• sepsis in the right kidney;
• pneumonia.

The operation had to be repeated in 2009 again in Germany. It turned out to be unsuccessful. Russian surgeons had to save Kobzon from death: Mikhail Davydov, head of the oncology center on the Kashirskoye highway, operated on the singer for two hours. The strength of the character of the pop master was such that in less than a week he performed live on the stage of Jurmala.

The disease made itself felt. The singer lost consciousness twice due to anemia caused by an illness in Astana at the international forum of spiritual culture in 2010.

In the last months of his life, chemotherapy procedures were performed for Joseph Davydovich every 18 days. After them, he continued his work until it became very bad. The singer was hospitalized twice in August 2018. The body began to fail sharply, life was supported by the apparatus, on August 30, the singer died. He had two weeks left until 81 years old.

Noble gesture

Kobzon was not buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, where, according to his status and regalia, his grave should have been. It turns out that he was given a place there a long time ago: more than 20 years ago, a standard plot was reserved next to the graves of Yuri Nikulin and ballerina Galina Ulanova.

But back in 1997, the singer gave this place for the funeral of his old friend Boris Brunov, who for many years headed the Variety Theater, whose awards and titles did not allow him to be buried on Novodevichy.

Kobzon then used the influence on the first officials of the state to give away "his" site. He himself bought a place next to his mother's grave at the Vostryakovskoye cemetery, where he was buried according to his will.