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, Alex Reph . “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, .