Wade Hayes

[Kim]

Wade Hayes Fighting Colon Cancer

Country singer Wade Hayes is recovering from surgery to treat cancer. Roughstock reported the news via Twitter earlier on Friday afternoon, saying that he was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The singer was a hitmaker in the late ’90s and scored five Top 5 hits, including ‘Old Enough to Know Better,’ which went to No. 1.

Just last year, Hayes performed at the the Stars Go Blue for Colon Cancer event in Nashville. The event was organized by Nashville guitarist Charlie Kelley, who is the husband of GAC host Nan Kelley. Both are cancer survivors, with Charlie fighting off colon cancer in 2008. At the time, Hayes talked about about how important it was for him to support this event.

“I feel like any time I can help with cancer research , because this whole world is weird and you never know when you might need help down the road,” he told Nashville County Club. “That may sound hokey to you, but that’s the way I feel about it and I’m glad to be here.” At the time, he admitted that a close family member was also diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.

Hayes’ Facebook and Twitter pages have yet to give updates on his condition, but fans who previously heard the news have been leaving supportive words since before Thanksgiving. The only indication from the singer that something is wrong comes in the form of a recent cancellation announcement: “Due to circumstances beyond control, the November 30th show at the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar in Printer’s Alley has been cancelled.”

[Kim]

www.wadehayes-woww.com/WOWWExtras/2011christmascar.html

Wade Hayes Christmas message and thank you to fans.

[Kim]

Wade Hayes Is ‘Getting a Little Better Every Day’ Following Surgery for Colon Cancer

By: Alanna Conaway
tasteofcountry.com/wade-hayes-colon-cancer-surgery/


Wade Hayes is now resting comfortably at home following his recent surgery for colon cancer. Hayes, 42, was admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt Hospital earlier this month after learning he was battling stage IV colon cancer. The hit singer-songwriter’s surgery went better than doctors expected it would, and they sent Hayes home on Dec. 17, just nine days after the extensive procedure.

Hayes was able to spend Christmas at home with his loved ones and is continuing to stay positive about what his future holds.

“I’m getting a little better every day,” Hayes tells Taste of Country exclusively. “I am very thankful for all the prayers and support. Please keep it coming!”

Hayes hit the country music scene with a bang in the early ’90s with his debut single, ‘Old Enough to Know Better,’ which topped the charts in 1995. His other hits include ‘I’m Still Dancin’ With You,’ ‘Don’t Stop,’ ‘What I Meant to Say,’ ‘On a Good Night’ and ‘The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy).’

In 2009, Hayes released his latest album, ‘Place to Turn Around,’ which he created without the help of a major label. The new album, as well as Hayes’ other four albums, are available through his website.

[grg_straitfan]

Wade Hayes to Make First Public Appearance Since Colon Cancer Diagnosis
By: Alanna Conaway |

Wade Hayes will be taking the stage for the first time next week since being diagnosed and treated for stage IV colon cancer. Hayes, along with Trace Adkins, Exile, GAC’s Nan Kelly and her husband Charlie, will join together for the 4th Annual Stars Go Blue for Colon Cancer benefit event and concert, taking place Tuesday, March 6 at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.

For Hayes, his involvement with the event will have extra special meaning this year, as he recently faced his own battle with colon cancer. Hayes had successful and promising surgery in December, and is now in the midst of his chemo therapy treatment.

“Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers,” Hayes wrote on his official Facebook page last week. “They must be working because I’m gonna get to play for the first time since all this started. I’ll be playing at the Stars Go Blue Benefit Concert for the Colon Cancer Alliance. 80% of the proceeds will be donated to the Blue Note Fund. Come see us if you can. I’m still fighting this thing, so hoping I can still pick!”

Tickets to the event are on sale now and can be purchased through the Colon Cancer Alliance’s official website by clicking here. Proceeds from ticket sales will support the Blue Note Fund program.

[Kim]

Musician battles stage IV colon cancer

By Jacque Wilson, CNN


Country singer Wade Hayes was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in November

Hayes is 42 years old and has no family history of gastrointestinal disease

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women

(CNN) -- He thought the bleeding was a hemorrhoid, brought on by a strenuous weightlifting session at the gym.

He thought the fatigue was due to his life on the road, performing coast-to-coast with the band Alabama's lead singer, Randy Owen.

He thought at 42, he was too young to get a colonoscopy.

Then the excruciating pain hit.

Wade Hayes, the country musician best known for his No. 1 hit "Old Enough to Know Better," spent Thanksgiving in the hospital. His intestine had collapsed in on itself -- a condition called intussusception.

Intussusception blocks food and liquid from passing through the intestine and cuts off the blood supply to the rest of the digestive tract, according to the Mayo Clinic. Normally found in children, it's rare in adults unless caused by an underlying condition.

For Hayes, that underlying condition was stage IV colon cancer. Doctors discovered a large tumor had caused the collapse. And that wasn't the end of the bad news.

You just don't expect a man in his young 40s, who was perfectly healthy in every other way, to get this kind of diagnosis.

Mike Robertson, Hayes' managerThe cancer had metastasized, or spread. Surgeons removed approximately 70% of Hayes' liver and more than 20 inches of his large intestine.

"You just don't expect a man in his young 40s, who was perfectly healthy in every other way, to get this kind of diagnosis," says Hayes' manager, Mike Robertson. "There was a part of me that was going, 'Surely this can't be happening.' "

Colorectal cancer -- often referred to as colon cancer -- is the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society. It's also the most preventable. Colorectal cancer usually develops slowly, over the course of 10 to 15 years, from noncancerous polyps.

Approximately 90% of new cases occur in people over the age of 50. The American Cancer Society recommends colonoscopies every 10 years for people beginning at that age, unless they have high risk factors such as a family history of colorectal cancer or another gastrointestinal disease. Colonoscopies can spot and remove polyps before they become malignant.

Coming clean about my first colonoscopy

"Oftentimes, [colorectal cancer] has no symptoms," says Dr. Paul Limburg, a gastrointestinal cancer prevention specialist at the Mayo Clinic who has not treated Hayes. "The most important message is that people really should understand that screening should be done regularly. It could make a substantial difference in the number of lives saved."

Hayes had no family history of gastrointestinal disease, which is one of the reasons he ignored his symptoms for so long. In fact, when he walked into the hospital in November, he was in better shape than everyone in the waiting room, Robertson remembers.

Since then, Hayes has lost 50 pounds and is struggling to regain a sense of normalcy through multiple rounds of chemotherapy. He's fighting an uphill battle -- a 2004 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute estimated the five-year survival rate for stage IV colon cancer to be 8.1%, and an institute study of cancer data put the survival rate at 6%.

"It hurts like hell," Hayes says of his recovery. "I always thought of myself as a man's man, but I just discovered what a wuss I am."

Wade Hayes performs at the Stars Go Blue For Colon Cancer benefit on March 6, 2012. Thankfully, Hayes is anything but alone in Nashville. Willie Nelson called from Hawaii to wish him well. Kix Brooks helped him connect with the best doctors in the city. Jay DeMarcus from Rascal Flatts arranged for a private room at Vanderbilt hospital.

"That part of it has been really shocking for me. I had no idea how many people cared about me or even knew I existed."

Robertson says that's the kind of person Hayes is -- modest to a fault; an introvert who enjoys reading detective dramas and has no desire to just sit around.

Hayes lives with his dog, Jack, a boxer he found as a stray, eating out of the garbage at a filling station 75 miles from Nashville. He loaded the starving, tick-covered dog into the back of his truck and took him home, where Jack proceeded to chew on everything in sight.

"He's very lovable but a pain the ass -- just like me," Hayes says with a laugh.

Hayes' scans were clear of tumors in early March. But the musician still has four more months of chemotherapy to go.

Chemo has left his hands and mouth incredibly sensitive. Food tastes funny, and touching anything cold feels like "being electrocuted." Some days, he has trouble gripping his guitar.

He performed at the Stars Go Blue benefit concert for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month on March 6 but had trouble singing because of the chemo's effects on his vocal cords.

If I had caught it early, I wouldn't be where I am now.

Wade HayesHe's eager to get back to writing music, but the chemotherapy chemicals invading his body make it difficult to concentrate.

"He's seen something taken away that he's very passionate to get back to," Robertson says of Hayes' impatience. "He's always bounced back from everything. I think he thought he'd have the surgery, and then. ... The recovery has taken longer than he expected."

Still, Hayes is doing his best to help the process along. Studies have shown that environmental and dietary factors can influence your risk of colorectal cancer, according to Limburg. A low-fat, high-fiber diet is good, as is regular exercise.

"In general, things that are healthy overall, are healthy for your colon," Limburg says.

So Hayes is eating less red meat, more fruits and vegetables. He's sold his house in the city and is hoping to buy a small farm in the country. Most importantly, he's speaking out about getting screened early and often.

"If I had caught it early, I wouldn't be where I am now."

[Kim]

CMT News

Wade Hayes Fights Cancer, Shares His Story - The 1990s Country Star Says He Wants to Help People


Wade Hayes is still recovering from surgery in December following his diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer. And while he is now cancer-free, he says the disease will always remain a threat.

"One of the biggest reasons why people should get tested is because it's one of the more treatable cancers," the 1990s country star told CMT Insider. "When I waited too long, it spread, and now I have to deal with the rest of my life. I have to keep an eye on it because once it's in your blood stream and its mobile, it can pop up anytime. When it's just your colon, there's a lot better chance that they will get it right then. There is a chance you won't have any more problems with it. You know, that is not my case."

Hayes' surgery involved removing part of his large intestine, nearly three-fourths of his liver (due to the cancer's spread) and a commitment to chemotherapy until June.

In a recent interview, the "Old Enough to Know Better" singer shares the way that cancer has affected his health, his family relationships and the enduring connection to his fans.

CMT: Let's go back to your diagnosis. Were you feeling bad? How did it happen?

Hayes: I had an idea something was wrong all year last year. I felt weird and was having some problems. Last fall, I was going to a show in Houston and I had this severe pain in my abdomen. I went to the doctor and he said, "We need to get a colonoscopy. That's our first step." I did that and went ahead and did the show in Houston with this severe pain. When I say "severe pain," I mean seriously. And so I find out there is something in my large intestine larger than the size of my fist. We do more tests and find out it's a tumor that's blocking most of my large intestine. And we do more tests and find out that it is cancer and it has spread to my liver. There were three large tumors in my liver and several other small ones.

What do you do when the doctor says you have cancer? What does that do to you?

The moment I found out, I immediately started thinking, "Well, how am I going to tell my mom and dad?" I started thinking that I've got to beat this. That is all there is to do. I have to beat this.

Then with more time, do a little self-examination and look at my life and think about the things that are left undone, the things that are left unsaid. Do I really want to go talk to my Maker with this stuff on my heart? So you start to try and mend those fences and find a way to tell those people that you love that you love them. You want them to know, and it has really changed me.

I have decided if I can beat this thing that I am going to make it into a blessing not a curse because I know it is going to make me a better man. I still have problems with being grumpy, but that's something that I'm never going to beat. I've always had this side of me. I wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes ... but other than that, I have really made bounds in improving my life and relationships.

Career-wise, as this was happening, you were playing in Randy Owen's band.

I have been playing lead guitar with Randy Owen and still doing shows on my own. You know, it has been a pretty good schedule. It has been fun. I love picking with Randy Owen. He is a great guy and treats us like gold, and I love playing all those old Alabama songs that I grew up on. It is a blast, but this diagnosis couldn't have come at a worse time for me career-wise. I had gotten hooked up with my first producer, Don Cook. We had decided to make another project and kind of go for it again and see what happens. I had been writing and had some really good stuff in the stack that Don liked.

We were going to do a project, and we had finances lined up and all this business. Then I get this news, and it puts me a year behind of what I wanted to do. With chemo, you can't work. Everything has to be planned around your treatments. I can't go out and play with Randy and do shows of my own because of that. But it has been getting better and better every day. I'm getting my strength back finally from the surgery. I mean, you wouldn't believe how bad the surgery knocks you out. I look like Frankenstein and have scars all over me, but I am up and walking and feeling better every day.

There are fans who follow you regardless.

That's true. I couldn't believe the outpouring of well wishes and prayers just on Facebook alone. Also, the calls I have gotten from people. I have gotten calls from Rick Sutcliffe, the famous pitcher from the Chicago Cubs. Willie Nelson called me from Hawaii. Just all kinds of people that I didn't even know that they knew I existed. They took the time to call me and say that they were praying for me. That has opened my eyes a lot. I have a lot to be thankful for that I took for granted.

How would you like your fans to react to this situation?

I would hope the main thing that people would take from this situation is that I would like to help somebody. ... I'm generally not a happy-go-lucky guy. I've got a dark side, and there are very few things that truly I can say honestly make me happy. And one of them, oddly enough, is when someone needs me for something. When I can help somebody, then that makes me happy.

With that being said, if I can help anybody out, if they hear what I'm saying, if I can offer hope to somebody that they can get through this and they can fight it, then I can help somebody. I can give them that little nudge they need to go get it checked out and catch it earlier than I did.

When people think about me and hear that I have this condition, I hope that I can accomplish those things and also I hope that they can remember the music and the live shows because it was the best time of my life. I loved it. I love pickin', and I hope that I have made some people happy along the way.

[Kim]

Wade Hayes Says Cancer Battle Has Helped Make Him a ‘Better Man’


With six months of chemo under his belt, Wade Hayes is finally on the right side of recovery from his stage IV colon cancer, for which he underwent surgery back in December. In recent weeks, Hayes had bloodwork done — it came back tumor free. Hayes has finally completed chemotherapy is anxious about living his life once again.
“I am doing really well,” Hayes tells Taste of Country. “Chemo is very difficult on me. It sucks, but I am taking it better than most people do. The symptoms are still awful, but a lot of the symptoms I don’t have, one of which being that I got to keep my hair. Most people don’t. I’m very thankful for that.”

Throughout his chemo treatment, the singer lost close to 60 pounds due to a strict change in diet. “I’ve certainly had to take some drastic steps, diet wise,” Hayes notes. “I never did eat that bad, but now I’m really conscious about it. I can have dairy once in awhile and I can have very, very little red meat. I eat red meat once every two weeks, if that. I eat fish and chicken, lots of fruit and vegetables and low sugar. I miss my milk and cheese and ice cream and all that stuff, but I can’t have any of that from here on out. I may cheat every now and again because I’ve got to have my Mexican food! But for the most part, I’m eating pretty clean. That’s one of the reasons I can’t gain weight right now.”

Hayes’ spirits are strong as he continues to fight this courageous battle that has kept his friends, family and fans praying constantly for his health and well-being. “I want to sincerely thank everybody for their prayers because they have obviously worked,” Hayes says softly. “I’m convinced that that’s the only reason I’m here. I am very thankful, and I am trying my best to make something out of this life that I’ve been given after my diagnosis. I have certainly learned that you’re not guaranteed tomorrow, no matter what kind of shape you’re in. You know what kind of shape I was in before I got sick. I worked out all the time. I was strong, and yet it happened to me. I’m realizing that I took a lot for granted, and I’m trying my best to be a better man and make the best of this life that I have left.”

Part of his new perspective is helping make others aware to not overlook any signs if you think something may be wrong with your body. “I consider it my personal mission now to alert people that they don’t have to end up like I am,” Hayes insists. “I’m 10 years behind where I should have been tested. The doctor said I was a picture of health, except for the fact that I had cancer. He said I shouldn’t have this, but I do. Nobody knows why. I don’t have a family history of it, but I have it. So, my advice to anybody out there is if there is any inclining of an idea that you might have something going on, don’t be embarrassed about it. Go get it checked out and get tested, because it’s the most detectable and the most curable cancer that there is, if it’s caught early enough.

“I ignored the symptoms,” he continues. “I thought they were something else – symptoms being blood or any irregularity of your bowels at all. I had no energy. I was very lethargic. I thought it was just because I was burning the candle at both ends. Turns out that I had cancer, and it spread to my liver. That’s the first place it goes if you have cancer long enough in your intestines. So please don’t make the same mistake that I made. Don’t ignore it just because you think you’re healthy. That’s exactly what I did, and I ended up in the shape I’m in now. Now, some say I have a 50/50 chance of surviving and some say I have a one in four chance of surviving, because once it spreads, it’s in your system. I’m thankful because it was a miracle that they were able to get all of the cancer out because it had spread so far in my liver.”

Hayes is already looking ahead to what the rest of the year holds for him, which will include new music. The singer and his longtime producer/songwriter friend Don Cook have already spoken about working on a new musical project after Hayes completes his last round of chemo.

“I am pretty excited about it,” Hayes says with a smile. “Everything looks good; I just need to get well. I’m waiting on that. I have a lot to look forward to. Sometimes I get down, thinking I have a one in four chance of living … it bums me out. But what can you do? Do your best, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”