Bruce Springsteen’s wife and E Street bandmate Patti Scialfa revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2018.
Scialfa spoke about her diagnosis in “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” a new documentary that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday night. In the reflective portrait of the rock legend and his close collaborators, she opened up about how her illness has made it difficult for her to perform, leading her to take a step back from touring.
“It’s affecting my immune system so I have to be careful about what I do and where I go,” she said in the film. “Once in a while I get to go to a show or two and sing a few songs on stage, which is fun. It’s my new normal right now, but I’m OK with it.”
Scialfa did not attend Sunday’s premiere. The 71-year-old has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and married Springsteen in 1991. Scialfa was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band in 2014. In “Road Diary,” she says that being onstage with her husband allows audiences to see “a side of our relationship that they don’t normally see.”
Springsteen has also faced health issues, postponing his 2023 tour after being diagnosed with a digestive ulcer. Earlier this year, he rescheduled several shows under “doctor’s orders” as he continued to suffer from a “voice disorder.”
“Road Diary” features footage and behind-the-scenes planning from Springsteen’s latest world tour. The film is also a meditation on morality. But at the TIFF premiere, Springsteen, 74, stressed that he has no plans to retire anytime soon; he wants to keep performing “until the wheels come off.”
