Lenzman Goes Public with Cancer Diagnosis: "No One is Promised Tomorrow"

Dutch drum and bass DJ and producer Lenzman has fought a harrowing battle with cancer since January 2023. Finally, he’s chosen to tell his fans.

When it rains, it pours. On the same day Liquid co-founder Eamon Downes died of brain cancer, Dutch drum and bass artist Lenzman has opened a window into his own bitter struggle with kidney cancer.

The diagnosis came in January 2023, according to a statement shared by Lenzman (real name Teije van Vliet) across social media channels. Shortly thereafter, he underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys, which required him to cancel shows.

“Unfortunately, it had already spread and isn’t curable,” wrote van Vliet. “With a wife and two young kids, I was devastated.” But he eventually returned to DJing, he said, noting that the situation appeared “under control.”

That changed in August 2023, when van Vliet said he experienced severe headaches and suddenly fell out of bed. After an emergency brain surgery, he was forced to live with a piece of his skull missing, wearing protective helmets and experiencing memory loss.

Amazingly, on the other end of a February 2024 reconstructive surgery, he resumed gigging, aided in no small part by immunotherapy. But by the beginning of 2025, the treatment stopped working, and he began to have trouble walking.

Only a matter of weeks ago, van Vliet suffered from an epileptic seizure and spent three weeks in a hospital. He said that he’s seeing success with new medications, and would like to continue gigging again as long as a further recovery is in the cards.

“There’s much more I could say, but this has easily been the hardest thing my family and I have faced,” van Vliet wrote. “I’m forever grateful to my wife — my rock — and this is nothing like the life I imagined for us and our kids.”

Most closely associated with the liquid funk sub genre of drum and bass, Lenzman’s discography dates back to his 2007 Switch collaboration, No More Tears/Allure. He’s signed to key DnB label Metalheadz, and in 2016, he launched his own imprint called The North Quarter.

“No one is promised tomorrow,” wrote van Vliet toward the end of his statement. “For now, I’m taking it day by day with my family. And if all goes well, I’d love nothing more than to return.”