Switchfoot guitarist battles cancer, Jon Foreman asks for prayers
Grammy Award-winning rock band Switchfoot has made the shocking announcement that Jerome Fontamillas has been diagnosed with cancer.
As Switchfoot prepares for the release of their next album, Native Tongue, frontman Jon Foreman penned a note to their fans on Thursday revealing the news about Fontamillas.
“I got a call from Jerome a few weeks ago. He was calling with sobering news: he has cancer. One of Jerome’s kidneys has a large mass on it that has been growing for quite some time. The good news is that the cancer has not spread to his other organs,” Foreman revealed.
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Removing Fontamillas kidney is expected to be all that’s needed to rid the cancer from his body, he added.
The surgery is scheduled for the end of the month and Foreman says his longtime bandmate is still in “good spirits” despite the diagnosis. Fontamillas requested that Foreman share the news with their longtime supporters.
“We hope that many of you will join us in praying for Jerome and his family during this difficult season,” Foreman asked and then shared a message directly from Fontamillas.
“I wanted to tell this community firsthand what is going on. It’s hard to think about being on the sidelines while we release this album. But the songs have meant so much to me, even through this experience,” Fontamillas wrote. “We’ve been through so much as a band. This is just one more mountain to climb, one more storm to weather. I know we’ll get to the other side. And I look forward to having more reasons to be thankful when all of this is behind us.
“We will give you an update when we have news to tell you. Thanks again for years of love and support. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, we look forward to telling you some good news in the near future," he continued.
Switchfoot has been a band for 22 years and Foreman said that from the time he asked Fontamillas to join the band in 2000 he has been happy to have him in his corner.
“Our story includes family, songs, thousands of shows, and a journey that has taken us from California to Kolkata and back,” the lead singer said.
“Jerome is one of the finest humans you could imagine. He is kind when I’m grumpy. He remembers names and faces when I forget. He eats healthy when I don’t. In decades of knowing Jerome, I have never once seen him angry (and I’m in a band with him!). I asked his brother about it one time, and he said that he had never seen him angry either. Suffice it to say, Jerome is one of my favorite people on the planet,” he maintained.
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