Former
KISS drummer
Peter Criss was a guest on this morning's (Wednesday, October 28) edition of the
"Fox & Friends" show on the
Fox News Channel to talk about the stigma of being a man battling breast cancer. Watch video of his appearance below.
While some men feel embarrassed because of "this macho crap,"
Criss told
CNN surviving breast cancer was actually a blessing. He was treated before the tumor could spread and said he's speaking about male breast cancer now — during National Breast Cancer Awareness month — to raise the profile of this rare disease.
Criss, who played drums for
KISS and was known as "Catman," offered this advice to men who spot lumps in their breast: "Don't sit around playing Mr. Tough Guy. Don't say 'It's going to go away.' It might not and you might not see life anymore and how beautiful that is."
Criss, who is currently working on an autobiography as well as a new rock album, told
Reuters his bout with cancer had affected his songwriting.
"My lyrics are not so deep and dismal," he said. One of the tracks on the album, expected next spring, is called
"Hard Rock Knockers".
Regarding the fact that his old
KISS bandmates,
Paul Stanley and
Gene Simmons, are currently on a North American tour of arenas with two new band members, one in the make-up of
Criss' "Catman" character and the other as ex-guitarist
Ace Frehley's "Spaceman,"
Peter told
Reuters, "You want to put two clones up there in our makeup, that's great. Must I keep putting spandex and makeup on at 70 — I don't think I really want to do that."