Tragic Details About Elton John's Health Issues Over The Years

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Note: This article includes mentions of suicide attempts.

Music superstar Elton John has had a fabulous career, being one of a handful of celebrities to EGOT — meaning he's been awarded at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, and two years later, he joined the ranks of musical icons when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

However, John's life hasn't been without hardship. His relationship with his mother, Sheila Farebrother, was extremely tumultuous, with John calling her "a raving sociopath" in his memoir, "Me" (via People). While that's tragic enough for a lifetime, John also dealt with serious health issues that truly altered his quality of life. He tackled substance abuse and an eating disorder, contracted pneumonia, and suffered both hearing and vision loss. He also has had several organs removed, including his prostate, due to cancer. While obviously these setbacks have been difficult for John, they've also left their mark on his husband David Furnish and their two sons Zachary and Elijah.

Elton John has undergone many surgeries over the years, and even once joked during the New York Film Festival, "To be honest with you, there's not much of me left," referring to all the organs he's had to have removed (via Page Six).

This includes his appendix, tonsils, and adenoids. He also opted to have his prostate removed when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer — a revelation he shared with fans in his memoir. About the removal, John told NBC, "I have children. I want to see them. I want to grow up with them. It was a very easy decision to make" (via Today).

Moreover, John is missing both his kneecaps — one of which he allegedly wore as a necklace to the UK premiere of "Elton John: Never Too Late" — as well as his right hip. "The only thing left to me is my left hip. But I'm still here," he said at the New York Film Festival.

Elton John hasn't only dealt with physical health issues; he's battled mental ones as well. The British native tried taking his own life twice, once in 1968 and again in 1975. The latter was depicted in the "Rocketman" biopic and involved him taking a lot of Valium and then hurling himself into a pool to drown.

But it was his first attempt that actually inspired the hit song, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." During that time, John was engaged to a woman, which was obviously making him feel trapped in a situation in which he couldn't fully be himself. "I turned on the gas and left all the windows open," John told People 10 years after it happened. Bernie Taupin, John's writing partner and friend, found John with his head in the oven, lying on a pillow. The singer later characterized his attempts as cries for help, and he broke off the relationship with the woman.

Interestingly, Taupin wrote the lyrics to the song,  imagining the emotional turmoil that his friend had been going through, and John wrote the music. "'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' is a life lesson," Taupin told the outlet. "It's how friendship can save you in a fleeting moment."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Losing a parent is never easy, but having to watch your loved one suffer and become a shell of the person you once knew sounds even more unbearable. In Elton John's documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late," he reveals that his young sons are extremely aware of their dad's situation. "They think about my mortality. They worry about my mortality," he said, adding how his kids want John "to be around forever" (via Newsweek).

Also, in the documentary, John admits he may not be able to watch his kids grow up and start families of their own. But because of that possibility, John vows to make the most of the time he does have to focus on his boys. "Time together is so wonderful and so precious," he said.

To add insult to injury, John suffered an eye infection in 2024, which has severely limited his vision. He told The Times that the setback has affected his ability to watch TV and read, but, more importantly, he isn't able to watch Zachary and Elijah play sports. "It's distressing," he admitted. "You get emotional, but you have to get used to it because I'm lucky to have the life I have."

Knowing you're going to die one day and accepting that you're going to die one day are two completely different mindsets, and it seems like Elton John has made peace with the latter. In April 2025, a source at Closer Weekly told the outlet that the five-time Grammy winner was in a good place mentally when it came to the idea of dying. "He's very aware that he's near the end of his life, and he doesn't see why he should sugar-coat that," the insider explained. "If anything, acknowledging that reality allows him to be more fully present for the time he does have left."

During a gig John played with Brandi Carlile at the London Palladium in March 2025, he told the crowd what he wanted on his tombstone — and it doesn't involve anything regarding his life's work in the music industry. "All I want on my tombstone is nothing to do with Crocodile f***ing Rock, I just want it to say, 'He was a great dad'" (via The Sun).