Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen’s Wife, Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen’s wife and longtime bandmate, revealed in a new documentary that she’s been living with a form of blood cancer since 2018.

Scialfa, 71, shared her multiple myeloma diagnosis in “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” a documentary that premiered Sunday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, she says the condition has made it a “challenge” for her to tour.

“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she says in the documentary, according to multiple outlets. “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 married Springsteen in 1991, seven years after joining his band on its legendary Born in the U.S.A. Tour. She’s performed as a vocalist and guitarist in the E Street Band ever since, though she’s taken a step back in recent years due to her illness.

The five-year survival rate for people with multiple myeloma ranges from 40% to 82%, depending on age, health, time of diagnosis and other risk factors, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Springsteen, 74, has dealt with some recent health issues of his own. Almost exactly a year ago, the 20-time Grammy winner postponed a round of shows so he could undergo treatment for peptic ulcer disease. He later shared that his condition was causing so much pain in his diaphragm, he “literally couldn’t sing at all” for several months.

But at the documentary’s premiere Sunday, Springsteen promised the crowd he won’t stop performing until “the wheels come off.”

Springsteen and Scialfa have three children together.