Exodus Drummer Tom Hunting Clarifies He’s Not “Cancer Free” Quite Yet
Looks like Exodus guitarist Gary Holt got a little bit ahead of himself by telling the world earlier this week that the band’s drummer, Tom Hunting, is officially “cancer free.” Hunting himself has now chimed in with a treatment update, and while things are certainly looking good at the moment, his optimism is a bit more cautious.
Hunting was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of cancer, earlier this year. The drummer recently underwent a full gastrectomy — the complete surgical removal of his entire stomach — as part of his treatment.
Hunting issued a statement via Holt’s Instagram yesterday, July 28, in which he thanked everyone for participating in the benefit show in his honor and also offered a medical update. He said:
“Hello Y’all
“I just wanted to thank everyone for taking part in the Blind Illusion show. I’m blown away by all the love and support from everyone in this community! It really propels me in this fight!
“So I had a full gastrectomy on July 12th. I’ve been healing up good, relearning my relationship with food, smaller portions more spaced out, lotsa proteins, etc… The science of all this continues to blow my mind on a daily basis. Like how can someone even be out walking around 2 weeks after the surgery?? HAHA!! Anyway, I’m super thankful!! I’ve learned that so many people don’t even get a surgical option. The doctors had a good plan, they went in, and they’ve told me they got it all!! Fuck Yesss, sounds good to me!!
“But it’s presumptious [sic] to say CANCER FREE at this point. I really hope to make that statement myself soon down the road. But let’s not jinx it! I’m still in the middle of this fight. The hardest part is over with still 4 outro chemo treatments pending. After that, I’ll have another scan that’ll hopefully show that Cancers Ass has been evicted from my body and kicked down the road!!
“I can’t wait to see you all soon and play some of the new Exodus music live!!! Much Love!!!!”
Holt then added a qualifier of his own, saying:
“I MAY have in my excitement jumped the gun on the cancer free YET, but let’s get to that point where it’s kicked to the curb! Some good news in the midst of three straight days of shit news”
Good news, indeed! The three straight days of shit news Holt mentions presumably refer to the deaths of Mike Howe, Joey Jordison and Dusty Hill.
Wishing Tom all the strength in his continued recovery.
