Motorhead Frontman Ian Kilmister's Death Unlikely Caused by Cancer

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Ian Fraser Kilmister, more commonly known as "Lemmy," who is the founder and lead vocalist for the British metal band Motörhead passed away at the age of 70 last Dec. 26.

The sad announcement was made by his band via its official Facebook account. "There is no easy way to say this... our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learned of the disease on 26 December, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made its way down the street, with his family."

"We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness; there aren't words." His band members also asked their supporters to play Lemmy's music in a loud volume and share stories about him over a drink, the Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, according to one oncology expert, it is not likely that Kilmister died from the cancer he was diagnosed with just two days prior to his passing.

"It would be extraordinarily rare for [his death] to be related to the cancer," said Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of staff at Cancer Treatment Centers of America Eastern Regional Medical Center. "My first thought was he had a new diagnosis of acute leukemia and he had no ability to fight infection.The next thing was did he have a prostate cancer he had been ignoring? You can die relatively suddenly of that."

The doctor also noted that the most aggressive cancers are the leukemias and lymphomas, according to the New York Daily News. He also tried to surmise what was probably going on in the rock star's mind upon learning of his condition.

"It is very possible that he had a cancer and did not go to the doctor," Standiford added. "If it was horribly aggressive and causing the big bad infection, you would think they would have put him in the hospital. He might have decided he would do nothing and go home."

Lemmy was also reported to have been diagnosed with other serious health problems, such as diabetes and hematoma.

Kilmister was born in Staffordshire, England in 1945 and founded his band Motörhead when he was 30. Fellow English singer and another heavy metal band member Ozzy Osbourne referred to Kilmister as one of his best friends. On his Twitter account, Osbourne also referred to his late friend as a warrior and a legend, according to The Independent.