Ronnie James Dio Didn't Have To Die (Top 11 of 11)

. Ronnie James Dio Didn't Have To Die was a top 11 story of 2011 for January. Here is the recap: Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell singer Ronnie James Dio would still be alive today if he'd had a medical check-up while his bandmates had theirs, says friend and bandmate Geezer Butler.

Dio died of cancer in May last year after a six-month battle against the disease. But Butler says the frontman had stage-four stomach cancer by the time it was discovered � and it was already too late for him.

The bassist tells Noisecreep: "By the time Ronnie was diagnosed it was inoperable. The doctor hinted it was just a matter of time and there was nothing they could do. They said if he'd gone in for a check-up a year or two earlier they could have treated him." -

This Thanksgiving weekend we are looking back at the top 11 Day in Rock stories for each month of 2011. See the other Top 11 of 11 stories here

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