Bruce Springsteen’s wife and E Street Band’s Patti Scialfa, opens up about her blood cancer diagnosis

Bruce Springsteen’s wife and E Street Band guitarist Patti Scialfa revealed she has blood cancer, which has slowed down her involvement with the band.

The news comes via Springsteen’s new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which debuted Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” Scialfa, 71, said in the film according to Variety. “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 was notably not at Springsteen’s Philadelphia tour stops last month. The guitarist said she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that targets plasma blood cells and impacts bone marrow, in 2018.

She largely attributed her medical condition to why she’s scaled back from touring with Springsteen this year. The tour started in February 2023 — including a Philly stop at the Wells Fargo Center — and is scheduled to continue through July 2025. Scialfa has previously also chalked up her absence to her and Springsteen’s first grandchild and wanting to record in the studio.

“I didn’t feel as needed in a way because there were a lot of musicians on stage,” Scialfa said in an interview last year with the Asbury Park Press. “I did the first couple of shows, and as I saw how it was all rolling, I thought, ‘This is good. This is completely intact. There’s not much room for me to add anything special.’

Scialfa also revealed that when her husband is home, he tends to hog their recording studio.

“So I took that opportunity to do my record,” she said.

The singer and guitarist’s upcoming fourth album, which does not have a name yet, is expected to drop later this year according to her page on Springsteen’s website.

She joined the E Street Band in 1984 and married Springsteen, 74, seven years later. Together they share three children.

Their new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, premieres on Hulu and Disney+ on Oct. 25.