The Wanted's Tom Parker admits he does not like to talk about cancer diagnosis

Tom Parker admitted on BBC Breakfast on Friday that he avoids thinking about his terminal cancer diagnosis because he fears it will ‘take over his life.’ 

The Wanted star, 33, revealed that it ‘took him so long’ not to be affected by things online, and admitted to googling his condition – glioblastoma – every morning. 

Back in October 2020, the singer was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, which doctor’s have said is inoperable. 

Consuming: Tom Parker, 33, admitted on BBC Breakfast on Friday that he avoids thinking about his Cancer diagnosis because he fears it will ‘take over his life’

Researching: He admitted that it ‘took him so long’ not to be affected by the stuff he saw online, and admitted to googling his condition – glioblastoma – every morning

He has been going through chemotherapy and the tumour has shrunk, but still remains there. 

He decided that he didn’t want the disease to take over: ‘I don’t want it to consume my life. I’ve got kids I’ve got a family so I just try and ignore it as much as possible, and that’s hard at times. 

‘When you’re stilted walking, or you can’t move your arm properly I’m like “come on get moving”’ 

He went on to admit that he shed three and a half stone due to chemotherapy leaving him with no appetite.   

‘A bad day would be, wake up can’t eat anything, chemo really took it out of me. It’s the appetite. You can’t eat anything and then obviously you’re losing weight. 

‘Chemo really took it out of me’: He went on to admit that he shed 3 and a half stone due to chemotherapy leaving him with no appetite

‘I lost about three and a half stone in about three weeks. And then to try and get that back on again, it’s easy to lose weight but putting it back on is really really hard.’ 

He then went onto reveal that his bandmates from The Wanted reached out when he had his diagnosis.   

‘Max [George] was like “anything I can do to help?”’ while ‘Jay [McGuinness] was like “Listen I’ll do anything we just want to see you get better”’  

Tom was grateful for their kindness and admitted: ‘It’s such a lonely time in your life where you feel like you’ve got nothing. You just feel like you just want to curl up and die to be quite honest with you.’ 

The band, which had the hit Glad You Came, are set to perform together for the first time in seven years in an upcoming concert for Stand Up To Cancer in honour of Tom.    

Strong: Back in October 2020, Tom was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, which doctor’s have said is inoperable

Strong: He didn’t want the disease to take over: ‘I don’t want it to consume my life. I’ve got kids I’ve got a family so I just try and ignore it as much as possible, and that’s hard at times; pictured with his wife Kelsey in 2019 

Hosted by Roman Kemp & Sonny Jay from Capital FM’s breakfast show, all proceeds from the Royal Albert Hall event will be shared between cancer charities.

A star-studded line-up including Liam Payne, KSI, Becky Hill, Sigrid and McFly will certainly entertain fans as they’re set to belt out their most-loved hits. Tickets go on sale on Monday at 4pm for a Tuesday 21st September show.

The Wanted band members Tom, Max, Jay, Nathan Sykes, and Siva Kaneswaran had originally planned to reform for their 10th anniversary in 2020, before the global pandemic forced them to delay the announcement.  

Tom said: ‘I really am so looking forward to this event. It has been a real pleasure to put together and I am so grateful for all the support I have had from all these brilliant artists.

Exciting: He then went onto reveal that his bandmates from The Wanted reached out when he had his diagnosis: ‘Max [George] was like “anything I can do to help?”’

Show-stopping: The band, which had the hit Glad You Came are set to perform together for the first time in seven years in an upcoming concert for Stand Up To Cancer in honour of Tom

Old times: The Wanted released three studio albums between 2010 and 2013. Their last LP, Word of Mouth, was released eight years ago and was a top 10 hit in the UK (pictured in 2012)

‘Now the news is out that my band will be performing too, it really is going to be a special night for so many reasons.  

‘So many people from around the world have been requesting a stream so that they could support the event and the good causes and I’m delighted that the team have managed to put this together.’

Former One Direction band member Liam Payne added, ‘When I heard about what Tom was going through I wanted to reach out to him. He’s showing so much strength and courage and I wanted to offer help and support in any way I could.

‘My thoughts have been with him a lot & it means the world that I can support him and his fundraising efforts by performing at the show, I can’t wait.’ 

Tom pondered on the Breakfast show his new outlook on life, and told viewers ‘just focus on everyday. None of us know what tomorrow holds and I think that’s the one thing I’ve taken from this situation – live today like it’s your last.’  

He also recently announced a Channel 4 documentary with the same title as part of this year’s Stand Up 2 Cancer from Cancer Research UK. 

Tom, his wife Kelsey, their two-year-old daughter Aurelia and nine-month-old son Bodhi, have invited the cameras into their lives as they look to make every future moment count.

It will follow the process of staging the show, the managing of his diagnosis along with the exploration of possible treatments. The family will also meet with fellow brain cancer patients. 

Family: Tom, his wife Kelsey, their two-year-old daughter Aurelia and nine-month-old son Bodhi, have invited the cameras into their lives