The Wanted’s Tom Parker: I will not let cancer consume me

The Wanted’s Tom Parker said he is refusing to allow cancer to “consume” his life.

The pop singer, 33, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour last year and will appear alongside his bandmates at a Stand Up To Cancer event on Monday.

It will mark the first time The Wanted, known for songs Glad You Came, Chasing The Sun and All Time Low, have performed since 2014.

Kelsey Hardwick & Tom Parker
Tom Parker, pictured with wife Kelsey Hardwick, will return to the stage with The Wanted as he continues to battle a brain tumour (Yui Mok/PA)

The five-piece are also releasing a greatest hits album.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Parker, who has two children with wife Kelsey Hardwick, said he is focusing on his family.

He said: “It’s not that I’m ignoring cancer but I just don’t want to pay it any attention.

“The more attention you pay it, the more it consumes your life and I don’t want it to consume my life.

“I’ve got kids, I’ve got family. So I just try and just ignore it as much as possible.”

The Wanted formed in 2009 with Parker, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes and Jay McGuiness.

They went on hiatus in 2014. Parker’s tumour has shrunk after undergoing six cycles of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiation, according to the BBC.

The Wanted’s Stand Up To Cancer’s Inside My Head show is scheduled to take place at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday.

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