Poison drummer Rikki Rockett recorded messages for his kids as cancer threatened to take his tongue

Poison drummer Rikki Rockett was staring down a terrifying possibility as he battled cancer: Doctors might have to remove his tongue.

After chemotherapy and radiation failed to stop the disease, the rocker began recording messages for his young children so they could remember the sound of his voice.

"I was recording pieces of information for my kids so they could watch it, because the next step was to cut my tongue out if they had to," Rockett (born Richard Allan Ream) told Fox News Digital.

"And I wanted them to know what I sounded like and my advice to them growing up, and I wanted them to hear it from me.

I wanted them to understand what I was, what I thought I was or would become." HOW THE NELSON TWINS WENT FROM PACKING ARENAS TO BEING 'F---ING BROKE' DESPITE MAKING MILLIONS Rockett, whose weight dropped to 161 pounds during treatment, said the possibility of losing his tongue left him fearing he might not survive much longer.

"I would've most likely had a feeding tube," he said.

"I don't think I would've lived much longer.

It would've added another year or two.

Some people do make it.

Some people get all of that done and live for a long time.

But I think a lot of times, with the way it was going with me, I don't think I would've survived, quite honestly." Fox News may be compensated for or earn a commission if you buy through our referral links.

Now 65, Rockett says he has been free of cancer for a decade.

His memoir, "Ghost Notes: My Life in Poison," chronicles his rise to stardom during the decadent '80s and his grueling health battle.

WATCH: POISON DRUMMER RIKKI ROCKETT RECALLS HEARTBREAKING CANCER BATTLE In 2015, Rockett said he and his family developed sore throats .