Bruce Springsteen’s wife and longtime bandmate Patti Scialfa has been secretly battling blood cancer since 2018. The 71-year-old singer-songwriter opens up about her shocking diagnosis for the first time in the new documentary Road Diaries: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, which premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Bruce Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa makes shocking revelation that she has blood cancer
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer discussed her diagnosis while explaining why she decided to step back from the music scene during her husband’s Springsteen On Broadway residency in 2018. Scialfa, who has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984, tied the knot with the Born In The USA hitmaker in 1991.
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“I’ve been performing with this band for 40 years. Starting with those first performances, it felt great to be back on stage. Touring has become a challenge for me. In 2018, Bruce and I were doing a play on Broadway. I was diagnosed with early-stage multiple myeloma,” she said in the documentary, which will be released on Hulu and Disney Plus on October 25.
“It affects my immune system, so I just have to be careful about what I want to do and where I want to go,” she said, adding, “Occasionally, I’ll come to a show or two, and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s a treat for me. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m okay with it,” according to People .
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The rock guitarist wasn’t present at the film’s premiere in Canada, but Springsteen attended the event and posed for photos with his bandmate Steven Van Zandt, record producer Jon Landau and the film’s director Thom Zimny. During a post-screening panel, the 74-year-old rock singer told The Washington Post, “When Patty’s able to make it, I can see her there. … I’m not alone. You’re risking everything, but you’re not alone.”
