An Epic Love: Patti Scialfa Thanks Her Husband Bruce Springsteen For Offering Their Family ‘Kindness, Heart & Soul’ Through Her Multiple Myeloma Battle

Thanks to advances in treatment, multiple myeloma has become a more manageable condition. However, patients remain at a higher risk of relapse, which means the cancer can return. That’s why maintenance therapy often plays a key role in the overall treatment plan—it can help prolong remission and improve long-term outcomes.

Scialfa wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of Springsteen and their kids, shared on Instagram, “You’re a cool rockin’ daddy in the USA!

“Thank you for the kindness, heart and soul you bring to our family. All love.”

Seen in the photo, Springsteen was holding all three of their children in his arms, while sitting down. The loving couple share three children, who are now adults— Sam Ryan, 31, Jessica, 33, and Evan James, 34.

In addition to celebrating Father’s Day, Scialfa and Springsteen also recently took to Instagram to commemorate their 34th wedding anniversary.

Alongside an image of the musical duo kissing, Scialfa looked back on their wedding, which took place on June 8, 1991.

She captioned the post, “Our one year anniversary…. Bruce surprised me with a beautiful party….. Today marks 34 years.

“Even though we already had Evan and Jess was on the way….spent the evening with Bruce Sam and our granddaughter Lily…”

Meanwhile, around the time of Scialfa’s anniversary post, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, have praised the singing-songwriting duo fir being their “couple mentors, according to US Weekly.

Speaking on the June 11 episode of the “IMO” podcast, Michelle Obama told Springsteen, “It’s rare that people don’t pass their stuff on, and that’s why I marvel at you and Patti and the work that you all have done because you learned those lessons.

“You and Patti have been couple mentors for me and Barack for quite some time.”

Michelle Obama further praised Springsteen, “Watching you guys do the work, getting advice on how to keep those lines of communication open.

“You got two powerful people in you and Patti, your own powerhouses in your own right, and merging those lives together … for all those reasons, you were the perfect person to be here to discuss this wonderful question from one of our listeners.”

As for how Scialfa has been doing with myeloma, Springsteen told The Times of London last year, “They found it early on and she’s got really good doctors, who have helped a lot.

“But it does fatigue her, very intensely, and that’s a problem … I’m doing a three-hour show, which is fatiguing for me and I’m pretty much at the top of my health. But she’s been great.”

He explained further, “We’ve worked out that she can come out and sing a few songs, and it’s important that the fans know what’s going on because they haven’t seen her in five years. Patti decided she owed that to her audience.”

Despite Scialfa’s ongoing health battle, Springsteen is continuing on his Europe tour with the E Street Band, with upcoming show dates in Spain, Germany, and Italy.

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Patti Scialfa’s Myeloma Journey

Scialfa said she learned of her early stage multiple myeloma diagnosis in the new Springsteen documentary titled “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.”

Fans learned of her health battle in the documentary, which recently made its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film is set for release on Hulu and Disney+ on October 25.

RELATED: Do Bruce Springsteen’s Stomach Ulcers Increase the Risk For Cancer?

Scialfa is reportedly seen in the film addressing her health struggle, and according to People, she said in the documentary, “I’ve been performing with this band for 40 years. With those first performances, it felt so good to be back onstage.

“Touring has become a challenge for me. In 2018, well, Bruce and I were doing a play on Broadway. I was diagnosed with early stage multiple myeloma.”

She explained further, “This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go. 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.”

Patient Education is Key — Head of Hematology at Johnson & Johnson On Getting Multiple Myeloma Patients Access to Good Information & Care

Understanding Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a rare and incurable type of blood cancer. When you have this cancer, white blood cells called plasma cells (the cells that make antibodies to fight infections) in your bone marrow grow out of proportion to healthy cells. Those abnormal cells leave less room for the healthy blood cells your body needs to fight infections. They can also spread to other parts of your body and cause problems with organs like your kidneys.

Sometimes, doctors find multiple myeloma when a blood test is done searching for another condition or when trying to find out what’s causing a patient’s unexplained symptoms.

Doctors use blood and urine tests and imaging tests, such as X-rays or MRIs, to help diagnose multiple myeloma and to guide treatment options. Ultimately, a bone marrow biopsy will confirm the diagnosis.

Hematologist and SurvivorNet advisor, Dr. Nina Shah, helps you understand this rare cancer

Multiple myeloma symptoms can range from tiredness, nausea and constipation. Other symptoms may include:

• Weakness, dizziness, and shortness of breath, which are signs of a low red blood cell count, are called anemia.
• Bone pain, which could be a sign of a fracture.
• Urinating too much or too little, muscle cramps, nausea, and vomiting are symptoms of kidney failure.
• Confusion is caused by too much calcium in the blood.
• Frequent infections because you have too few white blood cells to fight them.

It’s important to know that these symptoms could be attributed to other conditions. If you experience any of these symptoms or are concerned about any changes to your body, you should address them promptly with your doctor.

Hematologist-oncologist Dr. Adam Cohen lays out your options during the maintenance phase of treatment

Getting a Diagnosis

Sometimes doctors find multiple myeloma while doing a blood test to look for another condition, or when trying to find out what’s causing a patient’s unexplained symptoms.

According to SurvivorNet’s experts, blood tests are also the way your doctor might learn that you have smoldering multiple myeloma or MGUS, because these conditions don’t usually cause symptoms. Smoldering multiple myeloma and MGUS aren’t cancer, but they can sometimes turn into cancer.

The odds that either condition will become cancer are very small, but to be safe, your doctor will probably check you more closely with blood and urine tests, and sometimes a bone marrow biopsy–removing and testing a small sample of the spongy material inside your bones. These tests can help monitor you for changes that signal you’ve switched over to multiple myeloma, and that you need to start treatment for this cancer. You may also need a bone marrow biopsy to help your doctor make the initial diagnosis.

Doctors use blood and urine tests and imaging tests such as X-ray or MRI to help diagnose multiple myeloma and to guide treatment options. Ultimately, a bone marrow biopsy will confirm the diagnosis.

Monitoring your bone strength and health over time will help your doctors understand how, or if, your disease is progressing.

Treatment Options For Multiple Myeloma

Not everyone with multiple myeloma needs treatment right away. If you have smoldering multiple myeloma, your doctor might simply monitor you regularly, to see if your disease progresses.

If you develop symptoms or your doctor thinks you need treatment, there are many options.  Which of these treatments you receive, and how they are sequenced, depend on several factors, and on whether your treatment team thinks you are a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant.

Bone Marrow (Stem Cell) Transplant

This is also known as a stem cell transplant. It is a procedure to replace diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow without myeloma cells. Based on multiple factors, your doctor may decide that a stem cell transplant is best for you. The transplant process can be involved and requires multiple steps. Be sure to discuss this with your treating team to understand what is involved and what options are available.

If you’re not a good candidate for chemotherapy, your treatment options include targeted therapies, biologics, and steroids.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy is now available for patients with multiple myeloma, and targets abnormalities in myeloma cells that allow the cancer to survive. Examples of targeted agents your doctor may use include bortezomib (Velcade), carfilzomib (Kyprolis), and ixazomib (Sarclisa). These drugs are either given in a pill or through an IV, and cause myeloma cells to die by preventing the breakdown of certain proteins in myeloma cells. You doctor may also use other targeted agents in the class of medications known as monoclonal antibodies.

Biologic Therapy

Biologic therapy is another class of medication your treatment team may use to treat your myeloma. These medications use your bodys immune system to help fight and kill myeloma cells. This class of medication is most often given in pill form and include medications such as thalidomide (Thalidomid), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and pomalidomide (Pomalyst).

Chemotherapy

Sometimes your treatment team may recommend chemotherapy to treat your myeloma. Chemotherapy uses strong medicine to target cancer cells throughout your body. If your doctor recommends a bone marrow transplant high doses of chemotherapy are used for this purpose.

Steroids

Occasionally, doctors may use corticosteroids such as dexamethasone or prednisone as part of your treatment. Steroids are different from chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and biologic therapy. They work to reduce inflammation throughout your body. Steroids are given as a pill, and are also active against myeloma cells.

Radiation

Radiation uses high-dose X-rays to stop cancer cells from dividing. It is sometimes used to target myeloma in specific areas that may be causing you issues or pain. It is also used if there are tumors or deposits of myeloma cells that need to be treated, such as a plasmacytoma — a tumor made of abnormal plasma cells — of the bone.

Sometimes the cancer can return, or relapse after treatment. If this happens, your doctor can put you on one of the treatments you’ve already tried again, try a new treatment, or recommend that you enroll in a clinical trial.

Any of these treatments can cause side effects, which may include nerve pain and fatigue. Your doctor can adjust your medication if you do have side effects. In general, you should start to feel better once your treatment starts to work.

Extending Your Lifespan With Multiple Myeloma

Then you’ll ultimately reach the maintenance phase of treatment. Now that your doctor has gotten your cancer under control, from here the goal is to keep your disease stable and to maintain your quality of life. Which type of maintenance therapy you get, and what prognosis you can expect, will depend on whether your doctor determines that your multiple myeloma is standard risk or high risk.

One of SurvivorNet’s experts describes the maintenance process for this disease as similar to lawn care. Once you care for your lawn and it’s no longer overgrown (that’s the initial treatment), it will need some tending but with that attention (such as low doses of maintenance drugs), it can remain healthy.

Why the many phases of multiple myeloma are like caring for your lawn, says hematologic cancer specialist, Dr. Sid Ganguly

Sometimes this disease will return, even when you’re on maintenance therapies. You’ll still have treatments available if this happens.

Though it can be daunting to choose treatments for relapsed multiple myeloma, the medical experts at SurvivorNet are here to help you make sense of them. Remember that you do have options, and that the goal which becomes more achievable with each new treatment that’s introduced is to preserve your quality of life and extend your lifespan.

Multiple Myeloma Relapse

When your multiple myeloma comes back within about a year, your disease is generally classified as “high risk.”

When multiple myeloma returns after treatment, “It usually means that there were residual cells, even in very small numbers. They were either resistant to the treatment from the start, or they acquired resistance as the treatment was growing,” Dr. Kenneth Anderson, Director of Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Multiple Myeloma Center, explained in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.

RELATED: Groundbreaking CAR T-Cell Therapy Approved For Earlier Use in Relapsed Myeloma Patients, Good News For So Many Patients Seeking More Effective Treatments Sooner

In other words, not every myeloma cell in your body is precisely the same. Some start with a set of mutations that can give them resistance to treatments and make them more likely to relapse, whereas others develop mutations as a result of treatment.

The Signs of a Multiple Myeloma Relapse

• Increased levels of monoclonal antibodies: Myeloma cells are cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow that overgrow and produce abnormal proteins. These abnormal proteins are released in the blood and can be detected by physicians. When the levels of these increase substantially, that can be a sign that multiple myeloma has relapsed.
• Increase in plasma cells in the bone marrow: oncologists can use magnetic imaging, like MRI or PET scans, to see if there are a greater than normal level of plasma cells in the bone marrow, typical of overly dividing myeloma cells.
• Bone fractures and lesions: Myeloma cells activate the cells that break down bones and deactivate the cells that build up bones, which can result in fractures or small holes in bones. Oncologists can use X-rays or CT scans to detect bone damage indicative of relapse.

Coping with a myeloma relapse

For a full guide of resources, please check out SurvivorNet’s multiple myeloma guide HERE.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are facing a multiple myeloma diagnosis, here are some questions to help you begin the conversation with your doctor:

• What stage is my multiple myeloma?
• What are my treatment options?
• What are the possible side effects of your recommended treatment?
• Who will be part of my healthcare team, and what does each member do?
• Can you refer me to a social worker or psychologist who can help me cope with my diagnosis?

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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