⁠What is non-Hodgkin lymphoma? Barry Goldberg’s health struggles explored as former keyboardist passes away in hospice care

Blues and rock keyboardist Barry Goldberg, who played with Bob Dylan in the 1960s, passed away on January 22 at the age of 83, as reported by Variety.

Bob Merlis, a representative of the keyboardist, told Variety that Barry Goldberg died after struggling with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for a decade. Barry was living in hospice care and was accompanied by his wife, Gail Goldberg, and son, Aram, as he took his last breath.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a group of blood cancers that affect lymphatic system - which is made up of organs, glands, tube-like vessels, and clusters of cells called lymph nodes. There are over 70 types of these cancers, all of which are acquired genetic disorders.

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Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas typically affect people over 60

Barry Goldberg's battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not uncommon, since these cancers typically affect people aged 60 or older, Cleveland Clinic notes. They're also found to be "somewhat more common" in men than in women. In the US, this group of conditions is the sixth most common type of cancer.

Mayo Clinic states that the cause of this group of cancer is usually not known, but it starts with the development of changes in the DNA of lymphocytes - the germ-fighting white blood cells. These DNA changes tell the cancer cells to multiply quickly. As these cancer cells keep living, the healthy cells begin to die.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can affect one's lymph nodes, lymph vessels, thymus, tonsils, spleen, adenoids, and bone marrow. It often begins in either one's B cells - lymphocytes that fight infections - or T cells - lymphocytes that kill foreign invaders directly. Lymphoma arising from B cells is more common.

Besides old age, the other risk factors that make one vulnerable to this group of cancers involve medication that lowers immune response and infections like HIV and Esptein-Barr virus. Helicobacter pylori - the ulcer-causing bacterium found in the stomach - is also linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Among the common symptoms of non-Hodgkin lymphomas are chest pain, cough, abdominal pain or swelling, persistent fatigue, heavy night sweats, unexplained weight loss and fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a constant feeling of fullness.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be diagnosed through blood tests, imaging tests, and a lymph node biopsy.

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Barry Goldberg's self-titled album was produced by Bob Dylan

Barry Goldberg started his career in music in the 1950s. He played keyboard with The Paul Butterfield Blues Ban in the early 1960s, which led to his association with Bob Dylan. Goldberg played alongside Dylan in the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert, which has been dramatized in the 2024 Timothee Chalamet-starrer, A Complete Unknown.

Per Variety, Barry Goldberg's association with Bob Dylan also resulted in the latter producing his 1974 self-titled album, Barry Goldberg. The album went on to become the only one that Dylan had produced for another artist.

16 years after the release of Goldberg's album, he produced a recording Dylan made of the classic People Get Ready. The song was released on the soundtrack of the 1990 movie, Flashback.

Other artists that Barry Goldberg has worked with in his long career include Steve Miller, Leonard Cohen, Mitch Ryder, the Ramones, Rod Stewart, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Percy Sledge, Bobby Blue Bland, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Barry Goldberg was also the subject of a documentary, titled Born in Chicago, which was played in film festivals in 2021, and got a wider release two years later. Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, the film chronicles a concert Goldberg did with the Chicago Blues Reunion in the late 2000s.

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Following Goldberg's death, his family suggests that people make donations to the Bear League in his name, in lieu of sending flowers.