Blink 182 member Mark Hoppus was declared cancer-free last September, after years of fighting stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In a recent interview with People, he opened up about his cancer and how it brought him back together with his former bandmates, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker.
In the interview, he recalled spending time with the two before beginning chemotherapy.
“It’s actually better than it used to be,” Hoppus says. “There was no agenda. There were no lingering grudges. It felt very back to what it should be: three friends sitting in a room.”
Hoppus says that reconnecting with Delonge during his treatments helped alleviate the pain. “Everybody’s in a really great place now,” Hoppus said, before teasing the possibility of a Blink 182 reunion with the original line-up. “I keep writing music, and I’m open to whatever the next phase of Blink is. I’m hopeful for the future. I’m just damn glad to be here.”
Though there have been no official announcements of a reunion, tour, or album featuring Blink 182’s original line-up, Hoppus remains close with Delonge and Barker. Recently, the three were present at the latter’s nuptials in Italy.
“Obviously it was a celebration for them,” Hoppus said, “but for me it was the first time that I traveled really after being sick and the first time doing normal people stuff, like going to a wedding, traveling, seeing friends — all the stuff that you’ve missed out on for the past two years, not only from being sick with cancer, but from the pandemic: happiness, joy, meeting, new people, seeing friends that you haven’t seen in awhile and catching back up, eating delicious food in gorgeous settings. As big a giant spectacle as it was, it felt very normal and very like family.”