Bruce Springsteen Confronts ‘Questions of Mortality’ Following Patti Scialfa’s Blood Cancer Diagnosis
Bruce Springsteen is getting candid about how wife Patti Scialfa’s multiple myeloma diagnosis has changed his perspective of life.
“Hey, you get up around our age, and those are the things you’re thinking about,” Springsteen, 75, told the audience at the Monday, October 22, Los Angeles premiere of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, per People. “Patti and I have had to deal with her illness, and you’re worried about … it is a part of your life now, questions of mortality, and it just becomes a part of your life.”
Scialfa, 71, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018 and confirmed her health battle in the Road Diary documentary, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Scialfa explained in the documentary that her diagnosis played a role in why she chose to step back from the E Street Band’s world tour.
“With those first performances, it felt so good to be back onstage. Touring has become a challenge for me,” Scialfa said in the new documentary, per the outlet. “In 2018, well, Bruce and I were doing a play on Broadway. I was diagnosed with early stage multiple myeloma.”
Scialfa explained that she still loves performing. “This affects my immune system, so I just 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 onstage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
Scialfa has been part of the E Street Band since 1984. She tied the knot with Springsteen in 1991, and the couple share sons Evan, 34, and Samuel, 30, as well as daughter Jessica, 32.
Springsteen, for his part, recently opened up about how his wife is doing in the wake of her cancer diagnosis. “They found it early on and she’s got really good doctors, who have helped a lot. But it does fatigue her, very intensely, and that’s a problem,” Springsteen told The Times of London in a profile published on Saturday, October 19. “I’m doing a three-hour show, which is fatiguing for me and I’m pretty much at the top of my health. But she’s been great.”
He added, “We’ve worked out that she can come out and sing a few songs, and it’s important that the fans know what’s going on because they haven’t seen her in five years. Patti decided she owed that to her audience.”
