Patti Scialfa reveals 6-year battle with multiple myeloma

Patti Scialfa, the wife and bandmate of Bruce Springsteen , is opening up for the first time about a six-year battle with a type of cancer.

Scialfa, 71, says in the new documentary, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” that she was diagnosed in 2018 with multiple myeloma , a rare blood cancer.

The condition has made it difficult for her to perform with the band, she says in the film, which premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” Scialfa said, according to Variety . “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, a mom of three, has been part of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Springsteen since 1991, according to her band biography.

According to Variety, Scialfa did not attend the film's premiere on Sunday alongside her husband, who has faced his own health issues over the past several years.

What to know about multiple myeloma

The type of cancer Scialfa said she was diagnosed with, multiple myeloma, does not have a cure.

The cause of multiple myeloma is also unknown, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The condition, a cancer of the plasma cell, starts in the bone marrow, where it crowds out the production of normal blood-forming cells. It can go on to spread throughout the body, according to the CDC.

An estimated 35,000 people will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2024, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Risk factors for multiple myeloma, according to the CDC, include obesity as well as being older than 45-years-old. Myeloma is more than twice as common in Black people than White people, and it is more common in men than women.

In some cases, multiple myeloma does not present with any symptoms and is only found through a blood or urine test.

In other cases, according to the CDC, multiple myeloma can cause symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing to fatigue, bone pain, fever, broken bones and bruising or bleeding easily.

The condition may be diagnosed through lab tests, imaging tests and a bone marrow biopsy, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Treatments for multiple myeloma include chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation, and targeted therapy.