Bruce Springsteen’s Wife Patti Scialfa Reveals Blood Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Affects My Immune System’

Bruce Springsteen’s wife and E Street Band guitarist Patti Scialfa has opened up about being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2018.

Scialfa, 71, made the admission in Springsteen’s new documentary, Rock Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 8, per multiple reports including Variety and Entertainment Weekly.

Scialfa cited her medical condition as why she has largely stepped back from Springsteen and the E Street Band’s most recent world tour, which began in February 2023 and continues into July 2025.

This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she said in the doc, per 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.”

In October 2023, Scialfa told Asbury Park Press that she chose not to perform on several dates on Springsteen’s recent tour to work on a solo album and spend time with the couple’s first grandchild. Springsteen and Scialfa became grandparents to Lily Harper Springsteen in July 2022 when their son, Sam, 30, welcomed a daughter with his wife,

I didn’t feel as needed in a way because there were a lot of musicians on stage,” she said at the time. “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.’