Patti Scialfa reveals multiple myeloma diagnosis in new Springsteen documentary
Patti Scialfa, a longtime member of the E Street band and wife of Bruce Springsteen, confirmed that she has been battling blood cancer for about six years.
Scialfa, 71, made the revelation in “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” the world tour documentary that premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. She was absent from the film’s festival premiere, which was attended by Springsteen, his manager Jon Landau and bandmate Steven Van Zandt.
The musician said she has multiple myeloma, which occurs when cancerous plasma cells build up in bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Springsteen’s longtime collaborator Stevie Van Zandt and director Thom Zimny discuss the new film ‘Road Diary,’ ‘clowns’ trying to use ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ on the campaign trail and more.
“Touring has become a challenge for me. In 2018, while Bruce and I were doing the play on Broadway [‘Springsteen on Broadway’], I was diagnosed with early stage multiple myeloma. And this affects my immune system,” Scialfa says in the documentary.
She added that she has to “be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go” because of the disease.
“Every once in a while I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage. And that’s been a treat. That’s the normal for me right now. And I’m OK with that,” she said during an interview in the doc that shows footage of her performing onstage through the years.
Scialfa has been a member of the E Street band since 1984, serving as the group’s only member who is a woman. She provides backing vocals, plays tambourine and guitar. She married the the Boss in 1991, after his 1989 divorce from actor Julianne Phillips, and has toured and sung with the 74-year-old superstar for years.
In San Diego on Monday night, the Boss performed one of his first gigs — complete with a guest appearance by a dog — since resuming his world tour postponed last year.
“‘Fire’s’ always fun to sing. It’s very personal in away. You can see a side of our relationship that you usually don’t get to see,” Scialfa says in the film over footage of her and Springsteen’s duet. “Being back onstage with Bruce is a blast. ... Every night of this tour gives the band a chance to celebrate.”
Meanwhile, Springsteen has also made health headlines over the last year or so. Last year, the “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born in the U.S.A” singer postponed several shows due to his digestive illness, peptic ulcer disease, which is not mentioned in the documentary. Later that month, he and the E Street Band announced the postponement of their remaining 2023 tour dates so that he could continue to receive treatment.
The tour resumed in March with 11 rescheduled shows in the U.S. — including two at SoFi Stadium — before heading to Europe and then back to the States. The tour hits Baltimore on Friday, plays Asbury Park, N.J., two days later, then heads to Canada for shows that run into late November. After another break, the band will return to Europe in 2025.
Bruce Springsteen signed a young fan’s school absence note when he and the E Street Band ended their San Francisco concert on Sunday.
In an interview with The Times last week, Van Zandt confirmed that Springsteen is doing “remarkably well.”
“[H]e is really completely back to normal,” the guitarist said. “I think we did the right thing, playing it safe, taking extra time off and letting him heal. And he’s been terrific, really good shape.”
The documentary, which will begin streaming on Hulu and Disney+ on Oct. 25, takes an up-close look at the preparations for the ongoing 2023-2024 world tour that reunited the rock star with his band after taking an extended hiatus to work on solo projects and his Broadway show.
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