In September, Bruce Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, revealed that she has been battling cancer for years. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2018. Now that Scialfa’s cancer diagnosis is known to the public, Springsteen has shared an update on his wife’s health. In a trailer for a new ABC special, Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, 75-year-old Springsteen said Scialfa is “doing good.”
Bruce went on to say that the type of cancer that 71-year-old Scialfa is battling is “tough” — but luckily, doctors caught it early. “We caught it early, which was important. It’s a tough disease. It’s very fatiguing,” the rock star said in the trailer. When Scialfa spoke about her cancer diagnosis in Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, she explained that her diagnosis makes it harder for her to perform.
In addition to being married to Springsteen, Scialfa has also been a member of the E Street Band since 1984. Bruce explained that fans’ concerns about her whereabouts motivated her to share her diagnosis with the public. “She hadn’t played in the band in a long time, and people I don’t think knew why,” Springsteen said in the recent trailer.
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On September 15, 2024, Scialfa surprised fans by joining her husband on stage during his set at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The couple performed “Tougher Than the Rest.”
Shorter performances like these are the new normal for her as she undergoes treatments for cancer, she explained in the Bruce Springsteen documentary.
“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” Scialfa said. “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.”
As Cleveland Clinic notes, multiple myeloma is rare. It is more common in older people, with 69 being the average age of the people diagnosed with the condition, notes the American Cancer Society. Symptoms of multiple myeloma include bone pain, fatigue, nausea, increased thirst, and weight loss.
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