Lady A’s Charles Kelley took to Instagram Stories on Tuesday, offering fans an encouraging update on his battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer.
In the video message, Kelley revealed that he had just completed his sixth treatment and that it went well. He also shared that he and his doctor had come up with a plan to help him feel better during the upcoming holiday season as he prepares for Lady A’s This Winter’s Night Tour.
A Plan to Feel Better During the Holiday Tour
“I always feel better when I get to talk to the doctor. And we got a little bit of a plan going in for the holidays to feel a little bit better during those Christmas shows on the weekends, because the weekends have been really hard for me. That’s kind of when the steroid runs out,” he explained. “So we got maybe a little plan around that.”
The 45-year-old also shared that he is looking forward to slowly getting back into some light exercise. Kelley explained that staying active has been difficult amid treatment, partly due to the pain and muscle loss he has been experiencing.
Kelley Looks Forward to Getting Back to Exercise
“I think I’m going to start to slowly get some light work out. I think some of this muscle, I can’t tell if it’s muscle pain or bone pain. I mean, I know it’s mainly bone pain, but there’s definitely some muscular atrophy I think I’m feeling. So Daddy’s got to start getting a little bit more active again, which I’m very excited. I’ve been kind of afraid to, so I’m going to try to really just lightly do some stuff.I think that’s been the hardest thing is just not being able to be active.”
With his wife, Cassie, seated beside him, Kelley closed out the update with an encouraging message for fans, sharing, “So things are going good. We’re rocking and rolling. Numbers are going down.”
On September 29, Kelley bravely shared his diagnosis with fans in a vulnerable and honest video message.
“I’m young. I feel healthy and the treatments, I will say, have just come so far, even in the past five years, that even life expectancy is just far exceeds what it used to be. And I don’t know, I feel really hopeful. I really do,” he shared at the time.
He later opened up about the physical toll of treatment, admitting, “it ain’t no joke, man. It’s real.”
“The drugs are definitely pretty hard on your body. A lot of this cancer is inside of my bones and stuff in the marrow. And so I have full body aches a lot. It’s kind of constantly achy and really tired, but I do have my good days and my bad days,” he explained.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Multiple myeloma happens when healthy plasma cells become abnormal cells that multiply and produce abnormal proteins. This can cause medical issues that can affect your bones, kidneys and blood cells.”
What’s Next for Charles Kelley and Lady A
Despite the challenges of treatment, Kelley and his Lady A bandmates have remained active. The trio recently released their new track, ‘Bigger Picture,’ and also taped their hosting duties for CMA Country Christmas, which is set to air soon.
Lady A will also hit the road for its This Winter’s Night Tour, which kicks off December 10 and wraps up December 21 in Nashville.