life expectancy on average for such an illness ranges from three months to 18 months after diagnosis.Tom Parker and wife Kelsey are planning on having more children as they look to the future after some positive news about Tom's terminal brain tumour.
After undergoing rounds of chemo and radiotherapy, The Wanted star has been told that while inoperable, his tumour has reduced in size.
The dad had been expecting his second child, son Bhodi, with wife Kelly when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called glioblastoma.
The couple are also parents to toddler Aurelia.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Kelsey opened up about how the family are adjusting to life after Tom's diagnosis and revealed their hopes to extend their family of four.
"We are planning for more children – I’ve always wanted a big family and I think we’ll end up with four," admitted Kelsey.
"There’s only a 16-month age gap between our two children and it’s definitely been a lot, even without taking into account our circumstances, so I won’t be having children that close in age again – doing that once was enough," she added.
The mum said she and Tom have decided how they will tell their kids about Tom's tumour when they are old enough to understand.
"I want them to know that life isn’t always rosy, but we get through it. I know we will say, “Dad has a brain tumour but he is fighting it" she told the mag.
The couple were given a glimmer of hope with doctors telling them there has been a 'significant reduction' in the size of the Tom's tumour after chemo and radiotherapy treatment.
Recalling the moment her husband shared the news after attending the appointment alone, Kelsey said: "I couldn’t believe it, I was asking him if those were the exact words the doctor had said. We just stood in our bedroom crying tears of joy and relief.
"We are looking to our future with nothing but positivity. Tom will always be my Tom and we’ll get through it together, like we always do," said Kelsey.
Kelsey said that while she has opted not to Google any statistics around Tom's disease, she joked her husband is the 'King of Google' and has been 'arming himself with knowledge' to help him cope.
"That’s his way of coping and I leave him to the research. I prefer not to know and take each day as it comes," she explained.
Tom got himself checked out after having a seizure lsat July during a family holiday to Norwich.
Following weeks of unexplained seizures, Tom finally got the tests he needed with doctors breaking the news he had a tumour known as a grade four glioblastoma.
Life expectancy on average for such an illness ranges from three months to 18 months after diagnosis.
Tom and Kelsey made the joint decision not to be told the prognosis of his illness.
"I said that for Tom’s state of mind, and who he is as a person, that would not be good for him. He would literally sit here and count down the days and not live his life," Kelsey told OK.
Tom added: "I need everyone’s love and positivity. I am going to fight this. We are already exploring alternative treatments and looking at clinical trials both here and abroad, and our friends have been doing research. There are so many stories of people who were given a bad prognosis and are still here five,10, even 15 years later. We’re going to fight this all the way."
