Bruce Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, reveals cancer diagnosis

'That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that,' longtime E Street band member says in new documentary

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Published Sep 09, 2024  •  4 minute read

Bruce Springsteen, with singer Patti Scialfa and the E Street Band perform at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on March 15, 2016 in Los Angeles. Photo by Kevin Winter /Getty Images

Patti Scialfa, the wife of Bruce Springsteen and a longtime member of his E Street Band, has revealed she is suffering from multiple myeloma.

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Scialfa, 71, has only appeared sporadically during select dates on Springsteen’s current tour. But in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday night, the musician divulged that she had been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer in 2018.

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“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she says in the film. “That’s my new normal right now.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, multiple myeloma is a rare blood cancer that affects plasma cells, turning healthy cells into abnormal cells that can cause blood, bone and tissue damage.

Scialfa, who has been part of the E Street Band since the 1980s before marrying Springsteen in 1991, said she learned she had been stricken with the disease in 2018, when her husband was performing his one-man show on Broadway. 

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The film documents Springsteen, 74, and his E Street collaborators’ long road back to the stage after a seven-year layoff from performing live together.

“Our new film, Road Diary, will take you on a journey from behind the scenes at rehearsals to shows that we performed all around the world this year,” Springsteen said in a recent teaser on Instagram. “You’ll get to experience a little bit of the fun and the magic that we get to experience every night.”

“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,” Scialfa says in the film. “That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”

Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen backstage at the 6th Annual Stand Up For Heroes at the Beacon Theatre on Nov. 8, 2012 in New York City. Photo by Mike Coppola /Getty Images

In the documentary, Scialfa — who shares sons Evan, 34, and Sam, 30, and daughter Jessica, 32 with Springsteen — says that performing live with her husband gives his fans a view into their “relationship that you usually don’t get to see.”

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“Being back onstage with Bruce is a blast. Every night at this tour gives the band a chance to celebrate,” she says.

Scialfa was absent from Sunday night’s premiere, which was attended by Springsteen, E Street guitarist Steven Van Zandt, filmmaker Thom Zimny and producer Jon Landau.

Last year, Springsteen was forced to postpone his world tour under “doctor’s direction” after he was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer.

“Let me take a moment and thank my fans affected by our postponed shows for their understanding,” he said last October on his SiriusXM E Street Radio show From My Home to Yours. “I am deeply sorry but this belly thing, despite my ability to laugh at it, has been a monster and is still unfortunately rocking my internal world.”

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The E Street Band has also lost several members over the years, including longtime sax player Clarence Clemons and keyboard player Danny Federici.

In a post-screening Q&A, Springsteen said the experience of making the career-spanning film with bandmates that he’s known for most of his life was an emotional experience.

“The same people you were with at 18 and 19; 50, 60 years later, you’re still with those people,” Springsteen said. “You live your life with them. You see them grow up; you see them get married; you see them get divorced; you see them go to jail; you see them get out of jail; you see them renege on their child payments; you see them pay up; you see them get older; you see their hair go grey and you’re in the room when they die. That’s something that, in one way, I would wish you all such a lovely and complete experience with your good friends.

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“On the other hand, it lays a weight on you that is slightly different because of the length of time you’ve spent together and the things you’ve done.”

But Springsteen has no intention of slowing down or stepping away from the stage. After all, it’s the only thing he’s ever known so he plans to keep making music until “the wheels come off.”

“We’ve been good a long time. All those nights out onstage where you are risking yourself, because that is what you’re doing … you’re leaving yourself wide open … but I’m not alone,” he said. “This is what people want from their work. I wish it on everyone. We don’t live in a world where everybody gets to feel that way about their jobs or the people that they work with, but I sincerely wish that we did because it’s an experience that I’ve never had in my life.”

Sliding back into his chair, Springsteen concluded: “If I went tomorrow, it’s OK. What a f***ing ride.”

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band hits Disney+ on Oct. 25.

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