The nation is mourning the loss of rock and roll legend Eddie Van Halen who passed away after a long battle with cancer.

A local doctor says his death is bringing awareness to the illness.

The lead guitarist of iconic group Van Halen was first treated for cancer in his tongue and then developed throat cancer. He was 65 years old.

UMass Memorial head and neck surgeon, Dr. Ricardo Aulet, says this cancer can be tough to treat. It typically starts in areas like the tongue, tonsils, or back of throat and then spreads to the lymph nodes in the neck. Dr. Aulet says finding and treating the cancer early will mean better chances for survival.

Dr. Aulet said, "Any concerning symptoms, if you're having difficulty swallowing, having voice changes, if you're having fevers, chills, weight loss, things like that, those would be concerning symptoms that you'd want to get checked out. I think this raises awareness of this entity and makes people a little more vigilant about getting checked out."

Dr. Aulet says the biggest rise in head and neck cancers right now is in HPV-related cases. Other risk factors include smoking and drinking. Van Halen performed in Worcester at the DCU Center multiple times.

Image Courtesy: GHOSTRIDER2112 - CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57459382