Lady A’s Charles Kelley reveals multiple myeloma diagnosis, says he will keep working

Charles Kelley, co-lead vocalist of the country trio Lady A, said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer, and intends to keep performing through treatment.

Mr. Kelley, 45, disclosed the diagnosis in an Instagram video captioned “A little health update,” seated beside his wife, Cassie. He said doctors began testing after he suffered rib fractures.

“I had [a] couple random rib fractures that happened, which sparked my doctor into having me do several different blood tests,” he said. “And one of the last blood tests we did, they found a blood cancer in there called multiple myeloma, and it’s rare.”

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that forms in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, according to Mayo Clinic. Cancerous plasma cells build up in bone marrow, and symptoms can include weak or easily broken bones. Treatment can help control the cancer, reduce complications and ease symptoms, and it may help patients live longer, the clinic says.

Mr. Kelley struck a hopeful tone. “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.”

He said a friend who is battling the same cancer has been a source of support, and that watching her journey “helped.”

Mr. Kelley said he expects to keep working. “This first six months of treatment, I believe, is not going to be too super invasive. I can still work,” he said. He said he is looking forward to a new Lady A record and the band’s This Winter’s Night tour, a limited run of Christmas shows from Dec. 10 to 21.

He tied the decision to go public to his sobriety, which he has discussed openly since starting recovery in August 2022, ABC News reported. “Just getting this stuff off your chest is so freeing, and it takes the power away from it a little bit,” he said. “I think in sobriety it’s all about one day at a time and that we’re not in control, and so that’s the way we’re looking at it.”

Ms. Kelley, who became emotional in the video, said in her Instagram Stories that the couple is “just adjusting” to the news.

“This diagnosis is pretty new so we are just adjusting to it as a family,” she said. She added that she is thankful for her husband’s “great care team” in Nashville, and that the family wants to keep its routines as normal as possible for their 10-year-old son, Ward. The couple also has a son, Archer, who turned 1 on Sept. 16.

“Until the doctor tells [Charles] he can’t keep [performing], he’s going to keep doing that,” she said.

Bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood responded in the comments.

“The strongest duo right there! Love y’all so much! You’ve got this!” Ms. Scott wrote.

Mr. Haywood added: “Covering you in prayer brother. Love y’all. We’re all here for you!”