Patti Scialfa, the musician and longtime wife of rocker Bruce Springsteen, revealed in a recent documentary about her legendary husband that she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018. The 71-year-old acknowledges that the effects of the blood cancer makes it difficult for her to tour with her 74-year-old husband and the E Street Band.

“Touring has become challenging for me,” Scialfa said in the new film, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” that premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. According to The Washington Post, Scialfa said she is still able to sing a few songs onstage, but must be careful about what she chooses to do and where she chooses to go.

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The American Cancer Society (ACS) says that multiple myeloma is a rare form of  cancer that will strike about 35,780 people in the United States each year and cause about 19,520 deaths in both men and women in  2024. It is most common in older people, affecting fewer than 1% of those under the age of 35.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells, a type of white blood cells that are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. Plasma cells make the antibodies called immunoglobulins that help the body attack and kill germs. In general, when these plasma cells become cancerous and grow out of control, it is called multiple myeloma.

The disorder is characterized by low blood counts. This can cause anemia, resulting in weakness and fatigue. Myeloma cells also inhibit the growth of new bone. The ACS says that fractured bones are a major problem in people with myeloma. Bone breakdown also raises calcium levels in the blood.

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People with multiple myeloma often suffer from infections, as abnormal plasma cells can’t protect the body from infections. Normal plasma cells produce antibodies that attack germs. In multiple myeloma, the cancerous cells crowd out the plasma cells, so that antibodies to fight infections can’t be manufactured.

Kidney damage and kidney failure is another sign of multiple myeloma as the myeloma cells make an antibody that can harm the kidneys, says the ACS.  While there has been some progress in the treatment of multiple myeloma over the past few years, and patients can go through prolonged periods of remission, the condition remains very hard to cure. However, The five-year survival rate for this disease is 57%, according to the ACS.