Bruce Springsteen talks ‘questions of mortality’ amid wife Patti Scialfa’s battle with rare blood cancer

Bruce Springsteen spoke frankly about his feelings on ‘mortality’ amid his wife Patti Scialfa’s battle with a rare blood cancer.

Scialfa was diagnosed in 2018 but only made her condition public in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band.

Now, at a premiere of the film at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles this week, Springsteen has revealed the way his own mindset has changed in recent years.

‘Hey, you get up around our age, and those are the things you’re thinking about,’ he said onstage, according to People magazine.

‘Patti and I have had to deal with her illness, and you’re worried about… it is a part of your life now, questions of mortality, and it just becomes a part of your life.’

Bruce Springsteen spoke candidly about his feelings on ‘mortality’ amid his wife Patti Scialfa’s battle with a rare blood cancer; the couple are pictured in October 2019

Springsteen’s thoughts on life and death were also shaped by his old friend George Theiss, who was his bandmate in a group called the Castiles in 1960s New Jersey.

Theiss, who helped write some of Springsteen’s earliest songs, died of cancer aged 68 in 2018 – the same year Scialfa received her diagnosis.

‘Like I say in the film, there’s a lot more yesterdays and goodbyes once you get up around where we are than there was 30 or 40 years ago,’ said Springsteen this week.

He also revealed that he decided to make the documentary now because ‘if we didn’t make it now, I’d be dead pretty soon. We got to make these while we can.’

The comments come after Springsteen shared an update on his wife’s condition and advocated for early cancer detection in an ad for an ABC special on his upcoming documentary.

‘She’s doing good, we caught it early, which was important,’ the singer said on Tuesday.

‘It’s a tough disease, it’s very fatiguing,’ he told the outlet.

The special will premiere on ABC on October 20 at 10 p.m. EDT. Rock Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the hitmaker’s documentary, is slated for release on October 25.

Springsteen recently said Scialfa is ‘doing good’ amid her rare blood cancer battle

Patti, who plays guitar in her husband’s E Street Band, was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma back in 2018 and stepped back from touring as she faced the health crisis in private.

Earlier last month, she got candid about the disease while at the premiere of Bruce’s  documentary at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada.

Speaking about her decision to scale back her stage commitments, Patti explained: ‘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 went on to reveal she tries to come to a show every so often but she’s no longer a regular on stage.

The guitarist added: ‘This affects my immune system so I just 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 onstage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.’

The documentary marks the first time Patti has spoken publicly about her cancer diagnosis.