Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen’s wife and an E Street Band member, has announced her struggle with a kind of blood cancer.
In the new documentary “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Scialfa discussed her 2018 multiple myeloma diagnosis for the first time in public. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 8.
The Deal native claimed that the disease has caused her to perform less with her husband and the E Street Band.
“This affects my immune system, so I just have to be careful what I do and where I go,” Scialfa explained in the video. “Now and then, I go to a gig or two and get to sing a few songs on stage, which has been a delight. That is the new normal for me right now, and I am fine with that.
The American Malignancy Society describes multiple myeloma as a plasma cell malignancy that develops in the bone marrow, which produces new blood cells.
“In multiple myeloma, the overgrowth of plasma cells in the bone marrow can crowd out normal blood-forming cells, leading to low blood counts,” according to the American Cancer Society’s website.
Scialfa, 71, has been a member of Springsteen’s legendary rock band since 1984, and the couple married in 1991. They have three children together, including Jessica Springsteen, who earned a silver medal in equestrian for Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The documentary follows Springsteen and his band as they prepare for and launch their continuing global concert tour. It’s the group’s first since The River Tour ended in 2017.
Scialfa said her diagnosis occurred when the duo was performing at the “Springsteen on Broadway” engagement in New York City.
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“I’ve been performing with this band for 40 years,” Scialfa explained in the documentary. “It felt wonderful to be back on stage after those initial performances. “Touring has become a challenge for me.”
Springsteen, who is 74 years old, has encountered several challenges during his recent tour. Following multiple diagnoses of COVID-19 and peptic ulcer illness in 2023, the Freehold native had to postpone numerous shows.
The tour restarted in March 2024, less than two months after the death of Bruce’s mother, Adele Springsteen. She was 98 years old.
According to People, the documentary “Road Diary” interviewed over a dozen members of the E Street Band. The documentary also includes conversations with two dead band members: saxophonist Clarence Clemons and organist Danny Federici.