Tom Parker, a singer for for the British-Irish boy band The Wanted, has revealed he’s been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.
In an Instagram post on Monday morning, Parker announced the news to his followers, saying he’s currently receiving treatment for a grade four glioblastoma tumor.
“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 tumor and I’m already undergoing treatment,” Parker wrote. “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.”
In an interview with OK Magazine, Parker said he had two seizures over the summer and was hospitalized.
“They pulled the curtain around my bed and said, ‘It’s a brain tumor.’ All I could think was, ‘F—ing hell!’ I was in shock,” he said. “It’s stage four glioblastoma and they’ve said it’s terminal. It was a lot to deal with by myself. I still haven’t processed it.”
Parker co-created The Wanted in 2009 with fellow members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes. They rose to fame with their 2010 debut song “All Time Low,” which hit No. 1 on the U.K. top 20 singles chart. Managed by Justin Bieber/ Ariana Grande manager Scooter Braun, the group scored a Stateside hit with “Glad You Came,” from their second album “Battleground,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012. While the group was a major success in the U.K. and Ireland with hits like “Heart Vacancy,” “Lose My Mind” and “Chasing the Sun,” further U.S. success proved elusive.
In 2014, the band went on indefinite hiatus to pursue solo projects.