Wesley Willis undergoes emergency surgery

"Wesley Willis, Alternative Tentacle's Rock Star, had to undergo emergency surgery on June 2nd at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois to identify the source of, and to suppress internal bleeding. On Sunday, June 1st, Wesley was at a physical therapy appointment when he started bleeding. He was rushed back to the hospital where doctors tried to determine the source of his bleeding. Despite exhaustive attempts to locate the source of his bleeding via non-intrusive methods, doctors decided that they had to operate. So, on Monday, June 2nd, at around 1pm CST, Wesley was in surgery for 6 1/2 hours. They were able to locate the source of the bleeding and suppress it. Tissue has been sent off for tests to see if his leukemia has spread to other regions.

Wesley Willis, who has released over 100 albums - 3 of which on Alternative Tentacles - was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) at the end of 2002. It is not clear if this bleeding was related to his leukemia. This form of leukemia is treatable. Wesley has been undergoing care for his leukemia, and his doctors are very hopeful that the treatment will be successful. Prior to this incident, he has responded well to treatments. But this will be an ongoing battle. Wesley is clearly not out of the woods yet.

For more information on this type of leukemia, you can visit http://leukemia-lymphoma.org and we will have updates of his condition on our website. All touring plans for the rest of the year have been cancelled."

As an aside, Wesley celebrated his 40th Birthday on Saturday, May 31st. If you'd like to send him a get well card, click READ MORE for the hospital's address.

Northwest Community Hospital
Critical Care Unit
MOD B
Attn. Mr. Wesley Willis
800 West Central Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
60005