Green Day guitarist Jason White diagnosed with cancer

Billie Joe Armstrong from punk-rock act Green Day. Photo/Getty

Jason White, the touring guitarist of pop punk three-piece Green Day, has been diagnosed with tonsil cancer.

In a statement, the band told fans that they hoped he would "make a full and speedy recovery".

"We have some news to report regarding our brother Jason White, and wanted you to hear it from us before word spread," it read.

"Jason recently underwent a routine tonsillectomy, and his doctors discovered a treatable form of tonsil cancer. Thankfully they caught it early and he should make a full and speedy recovery. Please join us in sending him love and positive healing vibes during this time."

White first performed with Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong in the early 90s, when he joined his side project Pinhead Gunpowder.

He went on to play alongside bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool as Green Day's second guitarist in 1999, when they toured the album Warning.

White stuck around for their subsequent tours throughout the 2000s, and went on to become the band's performing lead guitarist.

He became an official member of the band when he received his first studio credit on the 2012 albums ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre!

Green Day have been troubled with health issues over the last couple of years.

Most notably, the group were forced to cancel a string of tour dates in 2012 and 2013 after Armstrong entered a rehabilitation program for drug addiction.

"I couldn't predict where I was going to end up at the end of the night," he told Rolling Stone in 2013.

"I'd wake up in a strange house on a couch. I wouldn't remember how. It was a complete blackout."

His substance abuse came to a head when he launched into an expletive-filled rant on stage at the iHeartRadio festival after the band's set was cut short. Video footage of his on-stage meltdown quickly went viral.

"I remember tiny things," he said of the incident. "The next morning, I woke up. I asked [my wife] Adrienne, 'How bad was it?' She said, 'It's bad.' I called my manager. He said, 'You're getting on a plane, going back to Oakland and going into rehab immediately.'"

- Independent