Pop singer and South Slocan native Shawn Hook has announced he has throat cancer.

Hook, who was twice nominated for Juno Awards in 2013 and 2016, said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he was diagnosed with throat cancer on Jan. 31.

鈥淎s you can imagine, this was life changing news and it hit me like a ton of bricks,鈥� wrote Hook. 鈥淗owever, this is a treatable kind of cancer and the cure rates are on the higher side.鈥�

Hook, who was born Shawn Hlookoff, was raised in Nelson and graduated from Mount Sentinel Secondary and attended Selkirk College.

He last performed at The Bailey Theatre in Trail on Jan. 21, and said the week before the show he noticed a bump on his neck. Last Thursday he had surgery and is now recovering.

鈥淭his is just the start of my battle and I鈥檓 taking it one day at a time. I鈥檓 feeling motivated to overcome this and I appreciate all the love, prayers and support.鈥�

The 38-year-old has released three albums and two EPs, and had double-platinum hits in Canada such as 鈥淪ound of Your Heart鈥� and 鈥淩eminding Me.鈥� His 2020 single 鈥淭ake Me Home鈥� reached 26 on Canada鈥檚 Billboard chart.