Bruce Springsteen’s wife and E Street Band member Patti Scialfa disclosed that she had been fighting cancer for a number of years.
Scialfa revealed that she received a multiple myeloma diagnosis in 2018 in Springsteen’s new documentary, Rock Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which debuted on September 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The singer-songwriter told Variety that she had to make the tough decision to step back because the diagnosis made it hard for her to tour with her husband and the E Street Band.
“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she 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.”
Scialfa previously informed the Asbury Park Press that she chose to play a limited number of gigs on Springsteen’s current tour, which started in February 2023, in order to focus on her solo album and spend more time with her granddaughter Lily Springsteen, who was born in July 2022.
“I didn’t feel as needed in a way because there were a lot of musicians on stage,” the guitarist said. “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. So I took that opportunity to do my record.”
Health problems are not exclusive to Scialfa. Springsteen’s remaining 2023 tour dates had to be postponed in September 2023 due to his ongoing peptic ulcer disease treatment.
A medical problem forced him to postpone tour dates once more in the early summer of 2024. Fortunately, it was only for three dates this time and was for “vocal issues.”
I’m sending up prayers for Patti Scialfa as she fights multiple myeloma.