AMANDA SOMERVILLE Says Her Cancerous Brain Tumor Is 'Not Operable': It 'Is Only Treated To Gain Time'

Amanda Somerville, the acclaimed American singer-songwriter and vocal coach who grew up in Michigan and moved to Germany to build her music career, has revealed that she has been diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma (DMG) is a rare type of cancerous brain tumor.

The original news of Amanda's "malignant and aggressive brain tumor" diagnosis was publicly shared on September 19 by her husband, AFTER FOREVER co-founder, main songwriter and guitarist Sander Gommans.

Earlier today (Sunday, October 11),Amanda took to her social media to write: "My dear Somervillains, I owe you a personal word.

"Many of you have heard by now — the news has been traveling faster than I have — and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to speak to you directly.

"These past weeks have been a blur of hospitals, scans, biopsies and difficult conversations, and I needed time to understand what we're facing before I could find the words. And with 3 little girls, it's imperative that I can function.

"On September 8th, I was diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma (DMG) — an aggressive, cancerous brain tumor that is unfortunately not operable and is only treated to gain time.

"I am currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy here in Germany, and Sander Gommans is by my side through all of it.

"I won't pretend this isn't serious. It is. But I am being cared for by excellent doctors, and we are pursuing every option available to us, including new treatments that give us real reason for hope.

"Your messages, your prayers, your love — I have felt all of it, even in the silence. Thank you for carrying me. For now, just knowing you're with us means everything."

Amanda is a rock-solid authority of the music scene, both as a solo artist and sharing success and the stage with bands like AVANTASIA, EPICA and KAMELOT. Though her American roots are based in pop and rock, she fell in love with the metal scene and made it her home. She has toured with Alice Cooper, Ian Gillan and many more legends with her commanding voice and fronts the projects TRILLIUM and KISKE SOMERVILLE (with HELLOWEEN icon Michael Kiske). All of this, combined with her wide range of experience, grants her a unique edge and a permanent address in the metal world.

Amanda has resided and worked mainly in Germany and the Netherlands since 1999. She has collaborated with several other bands in the metal scene along with producers Sascha Paeth and Miro, and co-wrote the rock opera "Aina". Her own music is of the pop-rock genre.

Amanda was tapped to replace EPICA vocalist Simone Simons on the band's 2008 North American tour with SYMPHONY X due to Simons's health issues.

Somerville was featured on KAMELOT's 2007 release "Ghost Opera", and toured with AVANTASIA. She released her solo album, "Windows", in 2008.

Less than a decade ago, Amanda was involved in the EXIT EDEN project, also featuring three other female singers from the rock/metal scene: Clémentine Delauney (VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, SERENITY),Marina La Torraca (BATTLE BEAST) and Anna Brunner (LEAGUE OF DISTORTION).