Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Efird Says Sister Anna’s 'Pain Is Getting Better' amid Stage 4 Cancer Battle (Exclusive)

The eldest sibling is managing her pain as she wraps up chemotherapy for stage 4 adrenal carcinoma

Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell continues to battle stage 4 adrenal carcinoma — as her sister, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird tells PEOPLE that she’s “doing a little bit better.”

“She's been able to still go to the grocery store and still do everyday things, which is actually pretty much a blessing 'cause I know most people at stage four and stuff physically [can’t],” Lauryn, 23, tells PEOPLE about the eldest sibling and mom to Kaitlyn, 11, and Kylee, 7.

Cancer was discovered in Anna's liver, kidney and lungs, and she was diagnosed this past January after she visited the doctor complaining of stomachaches.

Since then, Anna, 28,  has been sharing intermittent — and honest — updates on social media of her progress and chemotherapy treatments, at one point posting one video where she cheerfully talks about her favorite snacks.

In the video, Anna wears a pink turban, and as Lauryn confirms to PEOPLE, “She doesn't have any hair. She did shave her hair, shave it the rest of the way off because it was falling out in chunks and stuff like that. And she doesn't have any eyebrows or anything. But other than that, physically wise, I feel like she's doing a little bit better.”

In fact, apart from her hair loss, Lauryn tells PEOPLE that chemotherapy seems to have helped Anna feel a bit better overall. “The chemo didn't drag her down as much… when people think ‘chemo’ and things like that, they think older people and instantly, I feel like it makes them sicker. For her, I feel like it's helped her. She said her pain is getting better."

Related: One of Mama June's Daughters Nearly Quit Show amid Mom's Addiction – but She Learned to 'Lean on' Her Sisters

But next steps for Anna are still to be determined, while — as Mama June Shannon recently told Entertainment Tonight — the family comes to terms with her terminal diagnosis.

"For me, it's an emotional rollercoaster sometimes. Mentally it's always on my mind," said June, 43. "We know it's terminal."

"She's stage 4. She's not gonna go into remission," she added. "We've all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time 'cause you never know."

And Lauryn tells PEOPLE, “She's done taking chemo treatments right now because the doctor only suggested doing four because it could be very toxic to her body,”

“But as far as right now… every three months she has to go for a scan and maybe in the future she could do immune therapies or clinical trials,” Lauryn says.

Related: All the Ups and Downs of the 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' Cast  

The family shot to fame after sister Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson’s appearance on TLC's Toddlers & Tiaras, and later earned a show of her own, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, chronicling the lives of Shannon and her four daughters, including Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon.

June and some of her children are now starring in the WE tv reality series, Mama June: Family Crisis.

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