Lady A's Charles Kelley diagnosed with rare type of blood cancer
Lady A singer Charles Kelley revealed that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer.
Kelley, 45, shared the health update in an Instagram video on Sept. 29 alongside his wife, Cassie. He said the diagnosis came after he experienced “a couple random rib fractures,” which prompted his doctor to order several blood tests.
“In one of the blood tests we did, they found a blood cancer in there called multiple myeloma, and it’s rare,” Kelley said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells or white blood cells that make antibodies for protection from infection. "In myeloma, the cells grow too much, crowding out normal cells in the bone marrow that make red blood cells, platelets, and other white blood cells," the CDC said.
Despite the diagnosis, Kelley said he remains hopeful about his treatment.
“I’m young, I feel healthy, and the treatments, I will say, have just come so far, even in the past five years,” he said. “I feel really hopeful. I really do.”
Kelley also mentioned that he has been drawing perspective from a friend who was diagnosed with the same type of cancer about two months before him.
“In the same spirit of the way we’ve kind of shared a lot of my sobriety journey, just getting this stuff off your chest is so freeing, and it takes the power away from it a little bit,” he said. “But we’re gonna get through it.”
Kelley said he plans to continue working while undergoing treatment.
“This first six months of treatment, I believe, is not going to be too super invasive. I can still work,” he said. “I think physically I will feel like myself. I’ll have tough days, but, you know, I want to keep working.”
The singer said Lady A has a new record coming out soon and is scheduled to perform its This Winter’s Night Tour in December.
“I need to be happy and doing what I love to do and spending and soaking up as much time with my family as I can as well,” Kelley said. “But I’m hopeful, I really am.”
He added that he would continue to update fans about his health “when I feel like it’s appropriate throughout the journey.”
“It’s just another hurdle, and I’m confident that we’re gonna get through it,” Kelley said.
Kelley and Cassie share two sons, Ward and Archer.
Lady A is known for the hit songs Need You Now and Just A Kiss, among others.