When HAMRO learned he had cancer in March, he says he had one question: whether or not he would be cleared to play Tomorrowland.Ad 0:00 Click for sound 0:00 / 0:00 Despite a tight timeline between diagnosis, treatment and recovery, the Ottawa-based electronic music producer, who DJs as one-third of THE STOOG3S, would go on to perform with the group during Tomorrowland’s opening weekend.
The festival’s lineup placed the trio at the Rose Garden during a stage takeover by Belgian bass music promoter Rampage.HAMRO, whose real name is Tarik Hamrouni, laid out the intervening months in a candid post on his Instagram.
He says he was diagnosed in late March with testicular cancer and had the affected testicle removed surgically shortly thereafter.In his initial diclosure of the diagnosis, Hamrouni said he was “heartbroken” about the shows he would miss and confirmed that the STOOG3S tour would proceed without him.
He also told other artists not to ignore what their bodies were signaling, writing that touring demands more than audiences realize.Chemotherapy began in early May with his final cycle of treatment beginning in mid-June.
“Chemo is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Hamrouni wrote at the time.“After experiencing it I wouldn’t wish for anyone to have to go through it.” On July 13th, he received the best news he could’ve hoped for: he was in remission just four days before the set was scheduled to take place.
Scroll to continue more from edm Mike Posner Invites Electronic Music Producers to Remix ‘I Went Back to Ibiza’ HAMRO was not the only artist to overcome a challenging diagnosis in Boom this year.Spanish DJ and producer B Jones, who revealed a lymphoma diagnosis in January, returned to the Mainstage and performed from a wheelchair days after informing fans she was cancer-free.
Check out the images HAMRO shared ...