“America’s Got Talent” judge Howie Mandel and his daughter, Jackelyn Shultz, recently shared that Jackelyn’s son, 9-year-old Axel, is now in remission after previously being diagnosed with leukemia.
The father-daughter pair appeared on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” on Wednesday, September 17, and got vulnerable with an emotional discussion about Axel’s battle with cancer. This was their first time speaking on it publicly.
Schultz, a 39-year-old mother of two, reflected on some unexpected backlash that she faced during her son’s treatment.
At the time, Shultz wore a protective mask while recording their podcast, “Howie Mandel Does Stuff.” Her motivations for doing so were to reduce any risk of infection so that she could stay healthy and continue visiting her son in the hospital. This was particularly important when one of their guests had a cold.
“I got such hate and vitriol,” Schultz recalled. “They thought it was because I didn’t agree with their politics or whatever. In my mind, I’m like, ‘They have no idea what I’m going through right now.'”
Mandel, 69, explained that their family has had to work on coping with the leukemia diagnosis because the battle became “really specific,” since leukemia is also an autoimmune issue.
Axel’s Leukemia Diagnosis and Bone Marrow Transplant
Mandel mentioned that his grandson was first diagnosed during a family trip to Hawaii, which Schultz found too emotional to speak on, so the pair quickly moved on. The comedian consoled his tearful daughter.
“You go home and look at your baby,” Mandel explained. “Imagine somebody telling you that something horrible is wrong.”
They also made it known that Axel had required and undergone a bone marrow transplant, for which Axel’s 11-year-old sister, Abbey, bravely served as his donor.
Post-transplant, Axel’s leukemia went into remission, and he began undergoing remission treatments.
Finding Strength as a Family Against All Odds
While remission is a significant milestone, the family emphasized that healing from this is an ongoing journey.
Shultz pointed out that her son’s remission comes with its own set of challenges, from rehabilitating Axel post-transplant to helping him rebuild his immune system after strenuous remission treatments.
“I don’t think people realize that there’s so much that goes into treatment, that it’s not just the cancer alone,” Schultz said. “It’s also the treatment afterwards and the follow-up, and it’s a really, really, really long, hard road.”
Mandel expressed that their priority now is to build up Axel’s immune system as best as they can going forward, since he “doesn’t have an immune system yet, so he can’t go to school.”
Despite these ongoing obstacles, the family bravely shared their story and remains endlessly grateful that Axel’s doing better.
“We are really fortunate to be where we are right now, and for him to be happy and he’s doing well,” Schultz said.
