Patti Scialfa revealed that she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, in 2018, which prompted her to cut back on her time playing in the E Street Band with her husband, Bruce Springsteen. “Touring has become a challenge for me,” Scialfa said in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bandwhich premiered at the Toronto International Film festival on Sunday. “I just have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go.”
Scialfa first joined the E Street Band in 1984 and has toured frequently with the band, but was absent from nearly all of the group's concerts in 2023 and 2024. She married Springsteen in 1991 and, two years later, released the first of her three solo albums to date, Rumble doll—later followed in 2003 Lullaby of 23rd Street and in 2007, Play it like it is. The multiple myeloma diagnosis came during Springsteen's Broadway residency, during which he would appear in two songs.
Last year, Scialfa told the Asbury Park Press that she was spending less time on stage to work on a new solo album, as well as to spend more time with her new granddaughter. In fact, her reduced presence in the E Street Band is intended to reduce health risks. “Every once in a while, I come to a gig or two and I get to sing a few songs on stage, and that's been a treat,” he said in the documentary. “This is the new normal for me right now, and I'm okay with that.”
Road Diary coming to Hulu and Disney+ on October 25th.
from our partners at https://pitchfork.com/news/patti-scialfa-longtime-member-of-bruce-springsteen-e-street-band-reveals-cancer-diagnosis