Bruce Springsteen provides update on Patti Scialfa after ‘tough’ diagnosis
Rock star said illness is ‘very fatiguing’ for his wife and E Street bandmate
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Bruce Springsteen has shared an update with fans after his wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, revealed she had been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.
Scialfa, 71, disclosed her diagnosis of multiple myeloma last month when Springsteen’s new Road Diary documentary premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
In the film, Scialfa explained that her illness has made it difficult to perform, leading to her decision to take a step back from touring.
“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.”
She revealed that she received her diagnosis while she and Springsteen were on the rock singer’s Broadway run in 2018.
Now, a trailer for the ABC News special, Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, shows Springsteen providing an insight into how Scialfa is feeling since sharing the news.
“She’s doing good,” the rocker said. “We caught it early, which was important. It’s a tough disease. It’s very fatiguing.”
He also explained why Scialfa chose to make her illness public: “She hadn’t played in the band in a long time, and people I don’t think knew why. ‘Where’s Patti?’”
The NHS says that multiple myeloma, also known as myeloma, is a form of bone marrow cancer, and can affect several areas of the body including the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs.
Over time, it can cause issues including persistent bone pain, fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath, and blurred vision, headaches or dizziness.
Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984; she was inducted with the rest of the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
She and Springsteen married in 1991. They have three children together: sons Evan and Samuel, and daughter Jessica.
Last year, Springsteen made a surprise appearance at the New Jersey Hall of Fame ceremony. Inducting Scialfa, he called her his “secret weapon” and his “baby” as he presented her with the award at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
“I met Patti at [New Jersey bar] Stone Pony, where else?” he told the audience. “She was sitting in with the house band, Cats on a Smooth Surface, and I heard that voice of hers and I wondered, ‘Who is that girl?’ I went to find out.”
On the Road follows Springsteen and the band as they prepare to embark on their first tour since 2017. Set to continue through to July 2025, it has seen Scialfa rejoin her bandmates for select performances.
“I’ve been performing with this band for 40 years. With those first performances, it felt so good to be back onstage,” she said in the documentary.
“Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage, and that’s been a treat,” she added. “That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
She also explained that performing on stage with Springsteen offers the audience the chance to see “a side of our relationship that you usually don’t get to see”.
“Being back onstage with Bruce is a blast,” she said. “Every night at this tour gives the band a chance to celebrate.”
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will stream on Hulu and Disney+ from 25 October.
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