Summary
Sam Riegel has been a pretty prolific voice actor ever since the early 2000s, having lent his voice to hundreds of video games and TV shows, but most of you reading will likely know him from during his time atCritical Role. He played the kind and lovable aeormaton Fresh Cut Grass (originally designated Faithful Care -Giver) before the character blaze of gloried himself in April earlier this year.
It was an extremely emotional moment in the campaign, and one that seemingly came out of nowhere, briefly ending Riegel’s time with the rest of the cast of Hells Bells until his triumphant return as Braius Doomseed in June. Riegel had been supporting Matt Mercer and the gang from the sidelines during his time out, but he revealed on Monday afternoon that he’d also been dealing with a medical issue for the past few months, having been diagnosed with tonsil cancer earlier this year.
In a video released to theCritical Role Twitter accountandYouTube channel, Riegel explains that he went to the hospital earlier this year after losing the ability to taste sweet food. After ruling out Covid, he went to a specialist and was diagnosed with tonsil cancer, after which he went into surgery for two weeks later. Riegel goes on to explain that he’s spent the past few months relearning how to “speak and swallow,” but the cancer had been completely removed.
Critical Role’s Sam Riegel Reveals He’s Recovering From Cancer
Riegel received six weeks of radiation treatment following his surgery, but explains during his video that he’s now on the road to a full recovery. While that’s great news, Riegel also used the opportunity to warn people about the cancer he suffered through, explaining that it’s “one hundred percent preventable.”
Riegel says that the virus which kicked off his tonsil cancerwas the human papillomavirus, something that ninety percent of men and eighty percent of women will get in their lifetimes. Most people can fight off the virus naturally, but it can linger for decades in a small amount of people and cause major problems down the line. Riegel then urges everyone to get problems in their body checked out and to get their HPV vaccine to prevent any issues, stating that “you get the shot, you don’t get the cancer.”
Riegel then ends the video by thanking everyone that’s helped him during his cancer treatment and explaining that he’s “missed performing,” and that it’ll be a few more months before he’s back to full fitness. Hopefully, Riegel makes a full recovery soon, and he can start telling stories with Mercer and the gang soon.
