Bruce Springsteen has shared the health update his family and fans had been hoping to hear: His wife and longtime E Street Band partner, Patti Scialfa, is in remission.
The Grammy winner announced the news more than eight years after Scialfa was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that affects plasma cells, as reported by Rolling Stone on Monday, August 3.
Bruce Springsteen Announces Patti Scialfa Is in Remission
Springsteen, 76, revealed Scialfa’s progress in a video message shown during the Pan-Mass Challenge in Massachusetts over the weekend.
“As you know, Patti’s been living with her multiple myeloma for over eight years, but now, thankfully, she is in remission,” he told the audience, according to Page Six.
The annual cycling fundraiser supports cancer research and patient care at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where Scialfa, 73, received treatment. Springsteen appeared virtually during the event’s “State of PMC” program.
Patti Scialfa’s Treatment Inspired a Message About Medical Research
GettySpringsteen thanked Dr. Paul Richardson, Scialfa’s physician, along with the nurses and researchers who cared for her throughout treatment.
He described doctors and nurses as the people who give hope a recognizable face during the frightening and uncertain moments that follow a cancer diagnosis.
For Springsteen, the work at Dana-Farber became personal as he watched Scialfa undergo treatment. He said continued research gives families a reason to hope when that hope feels hardest to hold onto.
The Pan-Mass Challenge has raised more than $1 billion for Dana-Farber since it began in 1980, according to Boston.com. Springsteen thanked its riders and organizers for continuing to fund that work.
What Patti Scialfa’s Multiple Myeloma Remission Means
Multiple myeloma develops when abnormal plasma cells build up in the bone marrow, according to the National Cancer Institute. Plasma cells are white blood cells that ordinarily produce antibodies to fight infection.
Remission does not necessarily mean the disease has been permanently cured. Dana-Farber defines remission as the complete or partial disappearance of signs and symptoms following treatment, during which the disease remains under control.
Patti Scialfa Revealed Her Diagnosis in Road Diary
Scialfa was diagnosed in 2018 but did not publicly discuss her illness until the 2024 documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
The guitarist and vocalist explained that the disease forced her to become selective about touring because it affected her immune system.
“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 in the documentary, according to People. She joined the E Street Band in 1984 and married Springsteen in 1991.
The couple celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in June and share three adult children, Evan, Jessica and Sam. They became grandparents in 2022 when Sam welcomed his daughter, Lily.
After years of careful choices and closely managed treatment, Springsteen’s announcement offered a moment of relief for a family that understands how precious hopeful news can be.
