The GoFundMe page that was set up for EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting to help in his battle with stomach cancer has garnered close to $80,000 in less than a week.
Hunting has been battling squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach, which is seeing his medical bills pile up substantially. To meet the need, a GoFundMe page was set up by Hunting’s EXODUS bandmate, guitarist Gary Holt which has seen numerous donations — including $5,000 from METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer Chris Jericho.
Earlier today, Hunting shared a video message on EXODUS’s social media in which he thanked fans for their support, saying: “Hey all. Tom from EXODUS here. Just checking in. It’s April 26th. I’m in Northern California, where we just had six inches of snow fall last night. A little [Paul] Baloff birthday snow action.
“Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you, everyone. I’m overcome with gratitude and emotion for the donations and all the love and support. I’m doing okay. I had a treatment a couple of weeks ago. I’m going in for another treatment on Wednesday. So far so good. It’s kind of early in the fight. But I feel like I’m gonna crush this like a bug.
“Anyways, thanks again, everyone. I love you guys. And we’ll see you soon. Cheers.”
The 56-year-old drummer revealed his diagnosis in a statement released on April 13. He said at the time: “Today I will be starting treatment for a squamous cell carcinoma. It’s a gastric tumor that was diagnosed in my upper stomach in February.
“I’m making this public to raise awareness for people to pay attention to symptoms of stomach and esophageal issues. If they persist, please go get it checked out.
“I’m not gonna be sheepish talking about it. I feel that if I can help someone with what I’ve learned, or someone out there has information to share with me, it’s a win-win! When you can name the enemy, it’s empowering, and you’re 1 step closer to killing it!
“Ok, you’ve heard the bad news. The good news is he feels great physically! I’m gonna beat this like a fucking snare drum that owes me money!!! I’ve had great doctors and a great support system that is an army in itself. I’m ready for the fight!”
Soon after, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt announced that the band will “delay” the release of their recently completed new album, “Persona Non Grata”, “so that when Tom has defeated this, he will be back to full strength to hit the road and pummel his drums like only he can! When he has kicked cancer’s ass like we know he will, we will resume kicking YOUR asses with the sickest record yet!” he said.
“Persona Non Grata” was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap.