In a brand new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program “Wired In The Empire”, EXODUS‘s Tom Searching supplied an replace on his well being, almost 4 years after he underwent a profitable complete gastrectomy throughout his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the abdomen. The drummer stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “They take footage very often. I went from the four-month scan plan to the five-month scan plan, after which I have been locked in to a six-month scan plan. I am getting scanned subsequent Friday, so knock on this vintage wood desk that all the things’s good.”
He continued: “I really feel good. I am consuming good. I simply type of take it daily and check out to not give most cancers an excessive amount of power. And I feel all the things’s okay, however we’ll see what occurs subsequent Friday. [Laughs] If I begin occupied with it, I get what I name scanxiety, which is an actual factor.”
Searching went on to say that he not too long ago had a “good dialog” with vocalist Lou Koller of New York hardcore legends SICK OF IT ALL, who not too long ago underwent chemotherapy after being recognized with an esophageal tumor. “[Lou] simply went by way of some surgical procedure about it,” Tom stated. “And he is doing good. I hear he is obtained the all-clear fairly quickly to sing once more, which is fucking superior. I am completely satisfied for him.
“I feel the science is fairly good on our afflictions as of late,” the drummer added. “I am grateful for that science. I am grateful only for the power to maintain on residing, carry on trucking.”
Again in February 2023, Searching informed Radioactive MikeZ about how he was first recognized with most cancers: “The very first thing that occurred [is] I used to be dropping pounds and I did not have starvation for meals. It is arduous to clarify what that might really feel like. Up to now, I’ve had these type of flareups and it was all the time as a consequence of anxiousness or one thing. However this felt totally different. And it was lingering. I used to be going to see medical doctors. They usually did a bunch of scans. They did not see something within the scans. All of the blood work was good. After which they despatched a digital camera inside there.
“I urge anyone who’s having a intestine downside, if [the problems] persist, they’re gonna do a CT scan first. Inform them you need an endoscopy. That is the perfect check on the market. It most likely saved my ass, wanting again.”
Tom continued: “I used to be taking antacid stuff, like Pepcid and no matter. And I most likely took that Zantac drug that they are speaking about inflicting most cancers. I introduced that as much as my medical doctors too. Zantac has plenty of the identical stuff that your Pepcids and your different ones have in it too. And on the finish of the day, you should not should take that shit for, like, a 12 months. So, that was there. It was an esophageal kind of most cancers that confirmed up in what known as the cardinal area of my abdomen; it was forming in there and inflicting me to not eat. I could not burp. That was one other one. I had this tumor inside me, and I could not burp. And as quickly as they gave me my first dose of chemo, earlier than the surgical procedure, one thing loosened up in there and I used to be in a position to burp. It felt so good. [Laughs]”
In line with Searching, he “ended up having two totally different sorts of most cancers. They discovered a tumor inside my abdomen,” he stated. “So then they do what they name a laparoscopic surgical procedure, which they ship two issues inside you. They make two cuts and so they ship a digital camera inside you to bodily discover the area and the surface area. And mine was in a bizarre spot; mine was in my abdomen. So, okay, they wished to take a look at the surface of the abdomen lining — some loopy testing that they’ve gotta do. However it’s all a part of the method to make you a candidate for the surgical procedure. Once they did the laparoscopic [procedure] with me, it is two incisions, it is a digital camera that goes in and one other software that strikes your organs out of the way in which for this digital camera to go do its job. In order that they discovered nodules of mesothelioma on my stomach wall.”
When requested if the medical doctors stated there was something specifically that precipitated his most cancers, resembling consuming habits, life-style, residing or working environments, genetics, or one thing else, Searching replied: “I requested the specialist, I used to be, like, ‘Did I do one thing to [cause] this? Did I do a brake job on my automotive and sniffed asbestos or some shit?’ And he stated it might have been something. That most cancers might have been simply environmental, and it simply occurred.
“It is humorous, ‘trigger had I not had the unique most cancers, I by no means would have wanted a laparoscopic process to start with, and so they by no means would have discovered the mesothelioma,” Tom defined. “However for a minute, after they had been doing that check, what they thought they had been was the identical kind of most cancers that they noticed in my abdomen. So there was a minute there the place I used to be, like, stage 4 plus plus plus, like, ‘Give him chemo. Hold him snug.’ I would not have been a candidate to even get any type of surgical procedure. In order that they came upon it was a special kind of most cancers that was in my abdomen. That makes you a candidate to get the surgical procedure and the therapy after to attempt to knock out any nodules of mesothelioma that they might discover in there.”
Concerning his post-surgery restoration, Searching stated: “They took out 42 lymph nodes and my abdomen and all this loopy surgical procedure — like two surgical procedures in a single surgical procedure — and so they did not discover one speck of most cancers in one of many lymph nodes, which is, like, ‘Holy shit.’ If you happen to’re going by way of it, that is the fucking jackpot. The perfect three phrases you may hear are ‘nothing to see’.
“Luckily, it has been… After the surgical procedure, I obtained six months, or 5 and a half months of immunotherapy, ‘trigger they came upon that the chemo did not have an effect on the most cancers like they wished it to, in order that they did the surgical procedure. It trains your immune system to exit and kill rogue cells that it finds. It is fairly high-tech shit. And I am a beneficiary of that too.”
Tom added: “Science is nice. And I had plenty of good folks to speak to alongside the way in which to assist me out. And that is type of the place I am at now. I wanna be that ear for anyone who’s not too long ago getting informed that information.
“I am grateful. And I am undoubtedly one of many fortunate ones. Science is killer, and what they’re in a position to do for folks in my state of affairs and others these days is leaps and bounds from what they may do even 5 years in the past.”
In December 2021, Searching informed the “Put Up Your Dukes” podcast that he wished to make use of his expertise as a most cancers survivor to work together with others who could also be going by way of an identical state of affairs.
“I am not certified now, however I feel in a few extra months, they deem me certified to speak to different folks about this illness, and I am gonna do it,” he stated. “‘Trigger I would like folks to find out about it and I would like folks to get checked. Simply going public with it — I do not do social media, however what I learn on the EXODUS [sites] was, like, ‘Hey, I am having intestine issues too,’ and, ‘I am gonna go get checked out now.’ I hope folks get the solutions they’re in search of.”
“I am not saying these medication that they offer you in your intestine are unhealthy. They get you by. However should you’re having what you suppose is a intestine downside, inform ’em you wanna get scoped. ‘Trigger a few of these scans and a few of these assessments, they will not choose up what is going on on inside there.
“Since I am on this journey, dude, they’re fucking scanning me consistently,” Tom added. “‘Trigger they wanna see how I am reacting to what they’re doing too. So it is all a part of the science and the evolution of the science. In the event that they may also help me dwell — and I really like my life — and I may also help them develop the science to assist the subsequent batch of people that are gonna get this shit, that is a win-win.”
Searching rejoined his EXODUS bandmates on stage in October 2021 on the Aftershock pageant in Sacramento, California.
A GoFundMe marketing campaign to assist Searching with medical bills had beforehand raised greater than $114,000 — together with $5,000 from Tom‘s former EXODUS bandmate, present METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer and wrestling famous person Chris Jericho.
EXODUS launched its newest album, “Persona Non Grata”, in November 2021 through Nuclear Blast Data. A follow-up effort is presently being recorded for a tentative early 2026 launch through the band’s new label, Napalm Data.
