BLACK SABBATH guitar legend Tony Iommi was in Birmingham UK yesterday (Wednesday 26th August), helping Macmillan Cancer Support highlight the loneliness of cancer. BBC.co.uk reported that Tony, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 – spent a few minutes inside the “isolation box” much to the delight of nearby shoppers.

MacMillan Cancer Support was behind the exercise, which was carried out in the city’s Bullring shopping centre.

“I was in a bubble for a while – just like the isolation box,” said Iommi.

The chamber is made from two-way mirrors that stop the inhabitant seeing out but allow other people to look in.

Those inside the box can hear recordings of personal stories from cancer survivors.

The Birmingham-born musician, who was diagnosed with stage three lymphoma, said the box went some way to conveying the isolation he and many other cancer sufferers felt.

“When I was diagnosed I was absolutely devastated,” he said.

“They’re talking to me saying ‘you’ve got stage three’ and it’s going in my head and I just felt somewhere else.

“And it was only later when I really broke down, I thought that’s it, it’s the end. And you really think that.

“But it’s not. There are people who can help.”

Iommi has undergone surgery and chemotherapy and said he was feeling well and looking forward to jetting off to Los Angeles to work.