Bruce Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, has revealed that she’s been battling a form of blood cancer for the last six years.
At the Toronto Film Festival premiere of Springsteen’s documentary, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Scialfa announced that she had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018. Per the Mayo Clinic, multiple myeloma is “a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell.”
Due to her health concerns, Scialfa took a step away from her and Springsteen’s E Street Band’s current tour, which kicked off in February 2023 and will conclude in July 2025.
“Touring has become a challenge for me,” Scialfa said in the documentary, per the Associated Press. “This affects my immune system, so I just have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go.”
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The guitarist added, “Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
“Touring has become a challenge for me. This affects my immune system so I just have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go.”
Scialfa joined the E Street Band in 1984 and married Springsteen in 1991. It was during the “Springsteen on Broadway” residency when she was first given her cancer diagnosis.
Patti has previously spoken about stepping away from touring, but did not mention her health being the reason. In 2023, Scialfa told the Asbury Park Press that she stepped away from the E Street Band’s tour to spend time with her grandchild.
Springsteen and Scialfa’s son, Son, welcomed daughter, Lily, in July 2022.
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“I didn’t feel as needed in a way because there were a lot of musicians on stage,” she told the outlet at the time. “I did the first couple of shows, and as I saw how it was all rolling, I thought, ‘This is good. This is completely intact. There’s not much room for me to add anything special.’ “
“And the main thing was I have a record that I couldn’t have finished when Bruce was home because he’s in the studio all the time,” she continued. “So I took that opportunity to do my record.”
Springsteen has been battling his own health concerns over the past year.
Since the initial postponement of his tour last summer due to a peptic ulcer that made singing so painful he couldn’t do it for months, health issues have continued to plague Springsteen.
The “Born in the U.S.A” singer had to postpone all concerts within a 10-day period per doctors’ orders in May.
“Following yesterday’s postponement in Marseille due to vocal issues, further examination and consulting has led doctors to determine that Bruce should not perform for the next ten days,” a statement on his Instagram read.
“With this in mind, additional postponements are required for Airport Letnany in Prague (originally scheduled for May 28) and San Siro Stadium in Milan (originally scheduled for June 1 and 3). New dates for these shows will be announced shortly. Those wishing a refund will be able to obtain it at their original point of purchase. Bruce is recuperating comfortably, and he and the E Street Band look forward to resuming their hugely successful European stadium tour on June 12 in Madrid at the magnificent Civitas Metropolitan.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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