Black Sabbath star auctions guitar for cancer unit

Tony Iommi described the shock of being diagnosed and treated for cancer

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi has joined staff at a Birmingham hospital to help launch a fundraising drive for its cancer centre.

The musician, who was diagnosed with lymphoma at Heartlands Hospital, wants to give back to the staff by raffling one of his guitars, as part of a £150,000 appeal to refurbish the cancer treatment centre.

He said the guitar, a mahogany Gibson SG, was one he'd had for a while and used at home.

"We're putting it up to raise some money for the stuff they need here - I hope it does raise a lot," he said.

Iommi played at Ozzy Osbourne's farewell gig this summer.

The show saw the original line-up - Osbourne, Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - play together for the first time in 20 years, at Villa Park, just yards from where all four had grown up in Aston.

The show took place, with a bill that included a stellar line-up of rock musicians all originally influenced by Sabbath, just 17 days before Osbourne died.

Mr Paneesha said charitable donations could make patients' journeys much better

Iommi talked of his experiences as a cancer patient, when he received life-saving treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma 12 years ago. He also had a friend who was treated at Heartlands for lung cancer.

"To be honest, when I was told I've got lymphoma I went, 'Oh, what's that?'," he said.

"I didn't know what it was and then of course they explained to me what it was and it was a terrible shock.

"It's really hard when you're going through that.

"You just never think until you're in that situation and I know how difficult it is and how they feel and I like to be able to give something back and be involved and help."

Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were part of the Black Sabbath original line-up

The money will be spent on refurbishing the centre, including buying special chairs for chemotherapy patients.

Shankara Paneesha, consultant haemotologist at Heartlands, said it was "fantastic".

He said: "Some of the additional support which the charities can provide does make the journey for our patients much better."

Referring to when he had his first appointment, Iommi said "the more comfortable you can make the patient the better".

"I know when I was in, they treated me so well, that everybody was so nice, the nurses were nice, everybody was great and that's what you need," he continued.

"To have the right environment means a hell of a lot because you're sitting there a while being treated."

Iommi said the guitar, a mahogany Gibson SG, was one he'd used at home

Charlotte Schofield, director of fundraising at University Hospitals Birmingham Charity, said people would have time to take part in the raffle.

She said Iommi would make an announcement on his social media when the raffle goes live.

"People will have a window of opportunity," she said. "[It will be] a month to go on and purchase the raffle ticket."