Everything We Know About Bret Michaels' Health Issues Over The Years

Country rocker Bret Michaels has been a pop-culture staple since the early 1980s, be it as frontman of the band Poison, the star of multiple reality TV shows, or Pamela Anderson's short-lived fling partner. Despite his highly successful career, the "Lie to Me" singer has had to contend with some pretty serious health issues over the years. Still, Michaels has never been one to let that get in the way of his rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

Michaels has had health concerns ever since he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was six years old. In a 2023 interview with USA Today to commemorate his 60th birthday, the rocker explained that he was taught from a young age not to let his illness get him down. "When I was a kid, my parents gave me 'Winners Never Quit, Quitters Never Win' to help me deal with my diabetes," he said. "They wanted me to be victorious, not a victim."

Still, Michaels' health problems persisted into adulthood, with 2010 being an especially rough year for him. According to People, he underwent an emergency appendectomy (i.e. had his appendix removed) that April. Later that very same month, Michaels suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, per ABC News), which the singer attributes to an accident at the 2009 Tony Awards where a piece of the set hit him in the head. Not long after, Michaels also suffered a stroke. Doctors say the stroke was not caused by Michaels' brain hemorrhage, but rather a pre-existing heart condition.

Bret Michaels' unexpected appendectomy in 2010 wasn't the last time he would have to get surgery to address a health concern. Per ABC News, Michaels' team revealed in late 2014 that he had undergone kidney surgery in addition to being hospitalized half a dozen times in the space of two weeks while on tour. Despite this — and despite doctors' attempts to dissuade him — Michaels still insisted on performing.

Then, in early 2020, Michaels announced that he would be undergoing another surgery, this time to remove a patch of skin cancer his doctors had found. Michaels later underwent a similar procedure in 2023, having decided to get a checkup following the skin cancer-related death of fellow musician and close friend Jimmy Buffett, who died aged 76 in 2023. When cancer cells were determined to be responsible for a discolored spot on Michaels' stomach, he once again went under the knife. At the time, Michaels stated that he was "not completely out of the woods yet," but still optimistic regarding his condition. In between his two cancer scares, Michaels was hospitalized while on tour in 2022, reportedly because of an allergic reaction to some medication he was taking, per TMZ.

But while Bret Michaels has certainly been knocked down a few times, the bell still hasn't rung. "I'm still fast, and I'm still fun to drive," he said in a 2023 interview with People. "I just need a lot more maintenance."