Mama June Shannon revealed that her daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s stage IV cancer is terminal.
“She’s not gonna go into remission,” Shannon, 43, told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, July 12. “We’ve all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time ‘cause you never know.”
Cardwell, 28, has been handling the diagnosis “pretty good,” Shannon shared, noting that her eldest daughter “can still go to the grocery store, she can drive herself, she’s still able to take the kids to and from places.”
Shannon, for her part, said Cardwell’s terminal diagnosis has been an “emotional rollercoaster” for her as a mother.
“Mentally it’s always on my mind,” the Mama June: From Not to Hot star told the outlet. (Shannon is also mother to daughters Jessica, 26, Lauryn, 23, and Alana, 17.)
News broke on March 30 that Cardwell has been diagnosed with stage IV adrenal carcinoma in January after experiencing intense stomach aches. “This is what I mean when I say you never truly know what somebody is going through at home. No matter how famous they are,” Alana wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “I’m very famous but normal s—t happens to me and my family & y’all need to realize that ASAP.”
Shannon went on to note that after four rounds of chemotherapy, Cardwell’s next steps are to undergo clinical trials or immune therapy. However, she said Cardwell is unsure whether or not to continue with further treatment.
“It is crazy to think that she will not be here probably in five years, but I’m hoping that she can pull through and fight 10, 20 years,” Shannon stated.
Back in May, Shannon and her husband, Justin Stroud, exclusively told Us Weekly that Anna’s eldest daughter, Kaitlyn, 10, had become “more clingy” amid her mother’s cancer battle. Her youngest, Kylee, 7, meanwhile, is “still just too young to really comprehend what’s going on.” (Anna shares her two kids with her ex-husband Michael Cardwell.)
Shannon went on to note that their family was not receiving much support from relatives during the difficult time. “The people that are only here is me, Justin, Pumpkin [Lauryn], Alana, her boyfriend [Eldridge Toney], and Jessica,” the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo alum told Us. “Nobody else is here for Anna, nobody else goes to treatment, nobody else goes to her house.”
Throughout her cancer journey, Cardwell has shared occasional updates with fans via social media. “Well going on to round 3 of chemo,” she captioned an Instagram selfie with Toney on May 10. “This [was] yesterday it was [a] pretty good day but did get a little and Cracker Barrel was good going down but not up 😂 but over all [sic] it’s going good and chemo is working we come to find so things are looking good 😇😁😁🙏.”
Later that month, she celebrated Kaitlyn’s elementary school graduation via Facebook. “I am one proud mama right now,” Anna captioned pics and videos of the ceremony on May 23. “And I also can’t believe I am going to have a middle schooler and a second grader give me a minute while I go cry my eyes out 🥰🥰😭😭. I am so proud of my girls and everything they have accomplished.”
