Fans of Lady A are sending their thoughts and prayers to singer Charles Kelley after the revelation of a devastating diagnosis.
On Tuesday, September 29, Kelley — who is one third of the country music trio alongside Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — took to Instagram to share a message with fans.
‘I Feel Hopeful’
“I had a couple of random rib fractures that happened, which sparked my doctor into having me do a couple of different blood tests,” Kelley said in a video he shared, seated alongside wife Cassie.
“One of the last blood tests we did, they found a blood cancer in there called multiple myeloma,” he shared.
“It’s rare,” he added. “But I’m young, I feel healthy, and the treatments, I will say, have just come so far even in the past five years, that even the life expectancy far exceeds what it used to be.”
He added: “I feel hopeful. I really do.”
Per the Mayo Clinic, multiple myeloma forms in plasma cells, and there is no cure.
However, treatment has become increasingly effective in reducing symptoms. The rate of fatality from this particular form of cancer has dropped significantly over the past few years, with the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the U.S. hovering around 64% during the period from 2016 to 2022.
‘I’ll Have Tough Days’
Kelley told fans that he plans to continue performing with Lady A, and will be on hand for the group’s upcoming Christmas shows, noting that the treatment he’ll be undergoing wasn’t “super invasive,” and didn’t anticipate it interfering with his singing.
Speaking with his social media followers, Kelley explained why he’d decided to go public with his diagnosis.
“I think in the same spirit of the way we’ve kind of shared a lot of my sobriety journey, just getting this stuff off your chest is so freeing and it takes the power away from it a little bit,” he shared.
“We wanted to let you all know what was going on, and we’re gonna get through it.”
As he mentioned, he’s also been very public about his sobriety journey, and recently celebrated four years of sobriety after previously seeking treatment for alcohol addiction.
“I think in sobriety it’s all about one day at a time, and that we’re not in control, so that’s the way we’re looking at it,” he said.
“I mean, right now, I feel great. We got a new record coming out soon with Lady A and then we got Christmas shows and this first six months of treatment, I believe, is not going to be too super invasive. I can still work. I think physically I will feel like myself. I’ll have tough days, but I want to keep working.”
In fact, he admitted he’s finding solace in his music, taking his mind of his medical concerns.
“I need to be happy and doing what I love to do and spending and soaking up as much time with my family as I can as well,” he said. “But I’m hopeful. I really am. But we just wanted to let you all know and I’ll try to let you in when I feel like it’s appropriate throughout the journey and it’s just another hurdle and I feel confident that we’re gonna get through it.”
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Lady A’s Charles Kelley Annouces Diagnosis of Rare Incurable Cancer, Promises ‘We’re Gonna Get Through It’