Levon Helm Throat Cancer: Legendary 'The Band' Musician Dies At 71,Levon Helm passed away today (April 19) from throat cancer, Rolling Stone reports.

"He passed away peacefully at 1:30 this afternoon surrounded by his friends and bandmates," Larry Campbell, a longtime guitarist with Helm, told Rolling Stone. "All his friends were there, and it seemed like Levon was waiting for them. Ten minutes after they left we sat there and he just faded away. He did it with dignity. It was even two days ago they thought it would happen within hours, but he held on. It seems like he was Levon up to the end, doing it the way he wanted to do it. He loved us, we loved him."

Throat cancer is defined as cancer that develops in the throat (also called the pharynx), the voice vox (also called the larynx) or the tonsils, according to the Mayo Clinic.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there are expected to be 5,980 deaths from throat cancer (including larynx) this year. There are also estimated to be 25,870 new cases of throat and larynx cancer this year.

Men have a ten-fold increased risk of throat cancer compared to women; it is also more common in people ages 50 and older, according to the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.

If found early on, the cancer is able to be cured in 90 percent of patients, according to A.D.A.M. However, that percentage goes down to 50 to 60 percent if the cancer has spread to the nearby tissues or lymph nodes. The cancer is considered uncurable once it has spread to other organs, beyond the head and neck, A.D.A.M. reported.

source: huffingtonpost