Currents Guitarist Diagnosed With Cancer

American metalcore band Currents have revealed that their guitarist, Ryan Castaldi, won't join the group on their upcoming tour, as he's been diagnosed with stage 3 Low-Grade Follicular Lymphoma (a non-Hodgkin’s type of cancer that targets your lymphatic system). However, Castaldi and the band remain optimistic about his prognosis and treatment.

The band noted that Castaldi began receiving treatment at the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Centre in December 2022. Castaldi won't be joining Currents on tour for the first six months of treatment. If all goes well, he hopes to reunite with his bandmates later this year. 

The band have also supplied a GoFundMe if anyone would like to donate to the Castaldi family to help with the monetary costs of treatment. Read the full statement below:

Please Read:

Ryan Castaldi, guitar player for Currents, has been diagnosed with Low-Grade Follicular Lymphoma, which is a non-Hodgkin’s type of cancer that begins in the lymphatic system. He was diagnosed in November 2022.

Six months prior to diagnosis, Ryan noticed a small lump in his armpit that slowly grew larger. A biopsy in October showed that it was indeed cancer. It is called “low-grade” follicular lymphoma because the abnormal cells are a slow-growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can go undiagnosed for years. The abnormal cells develop in clumps inside lymph nodes. This type of lymphoma is considered controllable, but not necessarily curable because it is slow growing.

Ryan is currently in Stage 3 and the cancer was detected both above and below Ryan’s diaphragm.

Ryan began his treatment with Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center at the end of December and his treatment includes both chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody. This treatment will last for six months followed by 2 years of maintenance monoclonal antibody treatment.

Overall, the prognosis for Ryan is very favorable but it will be a long journey. During the first six months of treatment, Ryan will not be touring with Currents. If treatment goes well, Ryan is hoping to be back on tour with Currents during the summer.

Ryan has a very positive attitude and outlook about his current situation but will truly miss touring and being on the road with his Currents family.

All donations and support will go towards medical expenses (deductibles, co-pays, and maximum out-of-pocket expenses), treatments, and living expenses.

Being that Ryan is currently under treatment, Ryan's father Steve Castaldi will be handling the financial side (monetary donations) of this fundraiser on behalf of Ryan Castaldi.

Thank you in advance for all your generosity, prayers, and support for Ryan in his fight against cancer.

He will beat this.

GoFundMe Link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ryancastaldi

Inside & outside of Currents, Ryan’s been family for over 10 years. We’ll be missing him on stage and in the van with us for the next 6 months, but we’re optimistic about his prognosis and confident that his comeback will be massive. The best we can do now is be there for him & help in whatever way we can.

We’re working on additional ways to fundraise for Ryan & his family in the coming weeks and look forward to sharing that info with all of you. In the meantime, please send Ryan your love & well wishes and be sure to spread the GoFundMe page.

We love you all and we’ll be seeing you soon.

Last year, Currents released the singles The Death We Seek and Vengeance. The band performed at the inaugural CVLT FEST last year, a heavy music festival curated by Alpha Wolf, which took place in Melbourne. Other bands on the line-up included Silent Planet, DEEZ Nuts, The Beautiful Monument, To The Grave, Bloom, Vengeance and Future Static. 

We're hoping for Ryan's speedy recovery.