Amanda Somerville has spoken publicly for the first time about the brain tumor her husband, AFTER FOREVER co-founder Sander Gommans, revealed on September 19. In a message to fans posted on Sunday, October 11, the singer said she was diagnosed on September 8 with diffuse midline glioma (DMG), an aggressive cancerous tumor that cannot be operated on and "is only treated to gain time."
Addressing her followers as "my dear Somervillains," Somerville apologized for the weeks of silence, explaining that they had been "a blur of hospitals, scans, biopsies and difficult conversations" and that she needed to understand what she was facing before she could find the words. With three young daughters at home, she added, staying able to function was essential.
She is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy in Germany, with Gommans at her side. "I won't pretend this isn't serious. It is," she wrote, while stressing that she is in the hands of excellent doctors and that the couple are "pursuing every option available," including new treatments that give them "real reason for hope."
She closed by thanking fans for the messages, prayers and support that reached her even while she stayed quiet: "Thank you for carrying me. For now, just knowing you're with us means everything."
The Michigan-born singer moved to Europe in 1999 and became one of the most trusted voices in symphonic and power metal. She has recorded and toured with AVANTASIA, sang on KAMELOT's Ghost Opera (2007), and in 2008 stepped in for Simone Simons on EPICA's North American tour with SYMPHONY X. She fronts her own TRILLIUM project, shares the KISKE SOMERVILLE duo with HELLOWEEN's Michael Kiske, co-wrote the rock opera Aina, and was one of the four singers in EXIT EDEN.
We reported on the initial diagnosis last month. Everyone at The MetalList sends Amanda, Sander and their family strength.