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The Wanted's Tom Parker cried as wife shaved his head amid cancer fight

Tom Parker of The Wanted in 2014 (RTNKabik/MediaPunch)
Tom Parker of The Wanted in 2014 (RTNKabik/MediaPunch)

The Wanted’s Tom Parker has told how he was in tears over losing his hair amid his battle with brain cancer.

The singer, 32, shared last year that he had been diagnosed with “inoperable” stage-four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Posting a picture on Instagram of him and his one-year-old daughter Aurelia, the star said he started losing his hair during treatment so asked wife Kelsey to shave it all off.

Watch: Tom Parker Reveals 'Significant Reduction' in Tumor After Terminal Brain Cancer Diagnosis

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Parker revealed it was emotional as he felt like part of him was “being taken away” and that he felt embarrassed about being bald, but that he has now come to accept his new look.

Under the heading “Acceptance”, he wrote: “Having been in the public eye since the age of 21 my appearance has always been important to me.

“I have had many different hairstyles from a Danny Zuko quiff and the crazy blonde stage my wife hated.

“When I started treatment my hair started to fall out, so after a morning at the hospital I came home and told @being_kelsey to shave my head. I remember this so vividly, I felt like part of me was being taken away as I saw the hair drop to the floor.

“There were tears.”

Max George, Nathan Sykes, Tom Parker, Jay McGuiness, and Siva Kaneswaran of the Wanted on stage during Capital FM's Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium, London.
The Wanted on stage (PA)

Parker revealed it took him some time to come to terms with it.

He said: “I wore hats for the first couple of months as I was embarrassed by my appearance.

“I know it sounds silly for a man to be so bothered by baldness when I was facing so much more but to me it felt like I was wearing a badge of baldness that shouted ‘I HAVE CANCER’.”

“So here I am facing my fears and laying myself bare,” added the singer.

“I have accepted my baldness and I now wear this ‘new do’ with pride. It’s a trophy of what I have overcome and what I have yet to beat.”

Parker shared his diagnosis with fans in October 2020, shortly before he and Kelsey welcomed their second child, a son named Bodhi.

Earlier this month he told fans he had seen a "significant reduction" in the size of his brain tumour.

"SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION,” he posted on Instagram.

“These are the words I received today and I can’t stop saying them over and over again.

Read more: Tom Parker ‘cried his eyes out’ holding newborn son

"I had an MRI scan on Tuesday and my results today were a significant reduction to the tumour and I am responding well to treatment.

“Everyday I’m keeping on the fight to shrink this b*****d!"

Watch: 10-year-old Palm Beach Gardens girl battling cancer with community's help