Mama June Shares Daughter Anna's Cancer Is 'Terminal'
Mama June Shannon had a disheartening announcement to make this week about her daughter's ongoing cancer battle.
After the reality star's eldest daughter Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma back in January, Mama June confirmed in a new interview that the cancer is terminal.
"It's an emotional rollercoaster sometimes. Mentally it's always on my mind," the mom-of-four told Entertainment Tonight, while sitting down with her three other daughters: Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon, 26, and Lauryn "Pumpkin Efrid, 23 and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, 17.
"We know it's terminal," she stated. "She's stage 4. She's not gonna go into remission. We've all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time 'cause you never know."
Mama June also revealed that Anna's prognosis has changed multiple times over the course of treatment. However, the family believes anything is possible, which is why they are just taking each day as it comes.
"Somebody can tell you six months, and you can live five years," she added.
"It is crazy to think that she will not be here probably in five years," Alana chimed in during the interview. "But I'm hoping that she can pull through and fight 10, 20 years."
View the original article to see embedded media.
After going through four rounds of chemotherapy, Anna's family revealed that she still has some options left, including immunotherapy and clinical trials.
On the bright side, the family assured that Anna is actually doing OK, considering the circumstances.
"She can still go to the grocery store, she can drive herself, she's still able to take the kids to and from places," Lauryn said, while mentioning that Anna "doesn't have hair, she has no eyebrows, she doesn't have any hair on her arms or anything like that."
They also gave an update on Anna's two kids, Kaitlyn, 10, and Kylee, 7, who are both too young to fully grasp the weight of the situation.
"The 10-year-old is aware, I don't think she fully understands," Lauryn explained. "I think she understands that Mommy is sick and Mommy might not be here for a while... She's 10, but she's a lot more mature than that because she's been raised around older people."
Mama June added, "Kaitlyn was always close with Anna, but now she doesn't go anywhere without Anna. I get that because she's thinking if Anna goes somewhere then maybe Anna might not be at the house when she gets back."
The younger one, however, is "too young to understand," Alana pointed out, with her mom agreeing, "Yeah. She just knows Mama's sick."
All things considered, the family seems to be holding up okay amid this difficult time—and like Mama June said, all they can do is take things one day at a time.
Next: ESPN's Dick Vitale Shares New Cancer Diagnosis After Battling Lymphoma and Melanoma
