‘American Idol’ Alum Reveals Brain Cancer Diagnosis

American Idol finalist Avalon Young announced she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She launched a GoFundMe to help pay for her medical expenses before her next procedure in late May. Young, 26, reached the Top 8 during American Idol Season 15, which aired in 2016 and was the show’s last season on Fox. The singer has raised over $43,000 so far.

Young was diagnosed with brain cancer last fall after she had several medical issues around Thanksgiving, she told TMZ. In February, she had a 16-hour surgery to remove the brain tumor. She began to feel better but was recently told that there is still cancer in her brain and she needs another surgery to remove what is left of the tumor. She also needs to start radiation treatment.

Her next procedure is scheduled for May 27. Young and her family hope that the GoFundMe can help cover the expenses and that she can resume working after the surgery Her family started the fundraiser in February. They shared the most recent update on April 21, noting that Young has been recording while waiting for the next brain surgery. She even plans to release a new single, “She Don’t,” on April 30.

Young, who hails from San Diego, recently told Fox5 San Diego she began feeling something was up with her shoulder last summer. At first, she was told this was a symptom of her anxiety, but she went to a doctor when the twitching worsened in November. “I just felt a little bit disconnected mentally and then I started having what they’re calling a simple partial seizure once every three hours for a few days, which was very alarming, of course,” Young explained in February. “I’m not an epileptic; I’ve never had a seizure in my life, so I didn’t even actually know what was going on, at first.”

Her doctors still thought this was caused by anxiety, but Young and her mother knew it was much more than that. She had an MRI, which discovered a lesion mass tumor on her left frontal lobe. As for her music career, Young is optimistic that her health challenge will only “make it better.”

“How could something like this not make your life better?” she told Fox5. “You come out of it; it happened; it’s not the greatest experience. But when you come out of it, I mean, I’m lucky I get to go through this; I get to survive; I get to live and that’s really, really awesome for me.”

Young has also traced her journey on Instagram, where she confirmed last week that “She Don’t” is only one song on an EP she worked on. “I love everyone on my team and the way they’ve worked so hard and shown so much love throughout this process,” she wrote. “GET SIKED. I REALLY FINISHED AN EP.”