Country music's Ray Price announces his cancer's in remission, rehab in progress

One of country music's legendary treasures, Ray Price, 87, has good news to share. His cancer remains in remission and he's ready to resume his live-show dates with renewed energy.

The Texas native, who generally performs around 100 or so shows annually, first revealed he had undergone chemotherapy as part of his battle with pancreatic cancer in a 2012 newspaper interview. At that time, Price revealed the tumor was discovered while his gallbladder was being removed after a gallstone attack.

“The doctor said that every man will have cancer if he lives to be old enough,” the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee has said. “I don't know why I got it — I ain't old.”

Ray Price performs "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By the Number."Ray Price performs "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By the Number."

In a Feb. 9 correspondence shared with Examiner.com, Price wrote, "We are so happy to tell you that I am back home. I bring good news that ALL TEST REPORTS SHOW THAT MY CANCER IS STILL IN REMISSION and I am improving daily."

Additionally, added Price, who never fully left the road in spite of his diagnosis, "So many of you have told me that you, a close family member or friends are also battling this awful disease that attacks our bodies with a force beyond our control. It is my greatest hope that a cure will one day soon be discovered that will wipe cancer off the face of the earth. "

As for the next step in his recovery, "I am now entering a physical rehab program to improve my muscle tone and rebuild my strength," Price said. "I hope to see you soon when I am ON THE ROAD AGAIN!"

Most recently, Price has made news for going headline-to-headline with country music's Blake Shelton for his now infamous remarks during a GAC interview about how traditional-country music is for "old farts and jackasses," and stating "Nobody wants to listen to their grandpa's music."

Although the "Cherokee Cowboy" has officially accepted a personal apology from Shelton, who lists Price among his musical heroes, many traditional-country fans and artists say the gesture didn't extend wide enough to others and was was "too little, too late,"

Meanwhile, Shelton's designation of "old farts and jackasses" during the GAC "Backstory" interview has been met with a loud roar from said fans, who have created their own "Old Farts & Jackasses" Facebook fan page that, at this writing, has 21,000-plus Likes and continues to grow stronger.

Kudos to Price --whose best-loved hits include whose best-loved classics include "For the Good Times," "Heartaches By the Number," "Night Life," "I Won't Mention It Again," "City Lights," "Release Me," "Make The World Go Away" and "Crazy Arms," among many others -- on not only beating cancer, but on also standing proud and tall for country's traditional-country fans.

Video bonus: To see Price perform "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches By the Number," please access the clip embedded with this post.