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Celebrity

12th Oct 2020

The Wanted’s Tom Parker diagnosed with terminal brain tumour

Jade Hayden

“It’s gonna be a tough battle.”

The Wanted’s Tom Parker has been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.

The singer, who rose to fame as part of the UK boyband over a decade ago, announced today that he was diagnosed with the tumour while on holiday with his family.

“You know that we’ve both been quiet on social media for a few weeks and it’s time to tell you why,” he said on Instagram. “There’s no easy way to say this but I’ve sadly been diagnosed with a brain tumour and I’m already undergoing treatment.

“We decided, after a lot of thought, that rather than hiding away and trying to keep it a secret, we would do one interview where we could lay out all the details and let everyone know the facts in our own way.”

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Hey guys, you know that we’ve both been quiet on social media for a few weeks and it’s time to tell you why. There’s no easy way to say this but I’ve sadly been diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and I’m already undergoing treatment. We decided, after a lot of thought, that rather than hiding away and trying to keep it a secret, we would do one interview where we could lay out all the details and let everyone know the facts in our own way. We are all absolutely devastated but we are gonna fight this all the way. We don’t want your sadness, we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options. It’s gonna be a tough battle but with everyone’s love and support we are going to beat this. Tom and Kelsey xxx

A post shared by Tom Parker (@tomparkerofficial) on

“We are all absolutely devastated but we are gonna fight this all the way,” he added. “We don’t want your sadness, we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options.

“It’s gonna be a tough battle but with everyone’s love and support we are going to beat this.”

Tom and wife Kelsey Hardwick, who are currently expecting their second child together, told OK! Magazine that the singer had been diagnosed with grade four glioblastoma following many unexplained seizures.

The couple told the publication they are still “in complete shock.”

“I knew something wasn’t right, but I never expected it to be this,” said Tom. “You never think this will happen to you.”

The singer said he was given a “worst case scenario” prognosis by doctors. “All I could think was, “F**king hell!” I was in shock. It’s stage four glioblastoma and they’ve said its terminal. It was a lot to deal with by myself. I still haven’t processed it.”

Tom, aged 32, joined The Wanted in 2009 alongside Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes.

The band enjoyed much success during their active years with chart hits such as ‘Chasing the Sun,’ ‘Heart Vacancy’ and ‘Glad You Came’ before going on indefinite hiatus in 2014.

Tom married wife Kelsey in 2018 and they welcomed their first child, a baby girl, the following year. They are expecting their second child, a baby boy later this year.

“I am going to fight this,” said Tom. “We are already exploring alternative treatments and looking at clinical trials both here and abroad, and our friends have been doing research.

“There are so many stories of people who were given a bad prognosis and are still here five,10, even 15 years later. We’re going to fight this all the way.”

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