Bruce Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa reveals blood cancer diagnosis

Bruce Springsteen's wife and bandmate Patti Scialfa is revealing her battle with cancer.

Scialfa, 71, shared the news in the new documentary "Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," which premiered Sunday at Toronto International Film Festival.

The film reveals that Scialfa was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2018. Because of the diagnosis, her "new normal" is playing only a few songs at a show every so often, according to the movie.

Springsteen has been married to Scialfa since 1991, and she is a longtime member of his E Street Band. The two share three children together.

Speaking to "CBS Mornings" in 2019, Springsteen said Scialfa has "been at the center of my life for the entire half of my life" and has provided an "enormous amount of guidance and inspiration." The "Dancing in the Dark" singer was previously married to Julianne Phillips until 1989.

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"Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," which follows the titular group's world tour in 2023 and 2024, is set to stream on Oct. 25 on Hulu. During one scene, Scialfa says performing with her husband reveals a "side of our relationship that you usually don't get to see."

Bruce Springsteentalks 'Road Diary' and being a band boss: 'You're not alone'

What is multiple myeloma?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that affects plasma cells.

"Multiple myeloma happens when healthy cells turn into abnormal cells that multiply and produce abnormal antibodies called M proteins," the clinic says. "This change starts a cascade of medical issues and conditions that can affect your bones, your kidneys and your body's ability to make healthy white and red blood cells and platelets."

Symptoms of multiple myeloma can include bone pain, nausea, loss of appetite, tiredness and weight loss, though it's possible to have no symptoms early on, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Blood cancer multiple myeloma,once a death sentence, is now highly treatable. Here's why

The five-year survival rate for multiple myeloma patients ranges from 40% to 82%, per the Cleveland Clinic, which notes that it affects about seven out of 100,000 people a year and that "some people live 10 years or more" with the disease.

In 2023, Dr. Sundar Jagannath, a multiple myeloma expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told USA TODAY that thanks to advances in treatment, he can now tell a 75-year-old who is newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma that they are unlikely to die from it.

"Bringing life expectancy for an elderly patient to a normal life expectancy, as if he didn't have cancer, is in a way a cure," Jagannath said.

Contributing: Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY