Lady A singer Charles Kelley revealed the worst kind of news on Tuesday (Sept. 29), but he did it with a smile and the knowledge that his family and friends are by his side.
For now, his plan is to keep working.
“Even going out [on stage] last weekend, even after knowing the news, I was like, ‘This is where I belong.’ I need to be happy and doing what I love to do,” he says, “and spending and soaking up as much time as I can with my family as well. But I’m hopeful. I really am.”
READ MORE: 36 Country Singers Who Have Battled Cancer
What’s Wrong With Charles Kelley?
Lady A co-founder Charles Kelley has multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. He shared the news with fans on social media on Tuesday.
“Right now I feel great,” he shared.
The 45-year-old began a road to diagnosis after “random rib fractures.” His doctors ordered blood tests, which revealed multiple myeloma.
What Is Multiple Myeloma?
Per the Cleveland Clinic, multiple myeloma is a rare form of blood cancer “that happens when healthy plasma cells become abnormal cells that multiply and produce abnormal proteins.” These build up in bone marrow, crowding out normal bone marrow cells.
This can affect bones, kidneys and blood cells.
Easily broken bones are one symptom. Others include fatigue, frequent infections and bone pain.
Additionally, the abnormal cells can prevent bone marrow from producing healthy red blood cells, which can lead to anemia.
The Mayo Clinic lists five things that can increase risk for multiple myeloma. These include:
- Age (risk goes up with age, median age is 65)
- Sex at birth (men are more likely than women to develop multiple myeloma)
- Race (Black people more likely to develop MM than white people)
- Family history
- A condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).
Multiple Myeloma Prognosis:
Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, stem cells transplants and medication are common forms of treatment for multiple myeloma, and while it’s considered to be incurable, advanced treatments can put this form of cancer into long-lasting remission.
The overall five-year survival rate is 62 percent although some people live more than 10 years.
“This first six months of treatment I believe is not gonna be too super invasive,” Kelley told fans. “I can still work. I think physically I will feel like myself. I’ll have tough days, but, you know, I wanna keep working.”
Between 2016 and 2022, the five-year survival rate for multiple myeloma was about 64 percent. Still, that doesn’t necessarily indicate a specific patient’s outcome, and Kelley says he’s feeling optimistic about his treatment plan.
“I’m young. I feel healthy. And the treatments, I will just say, have come so far even in the past five years that life expectancy far exceeds what it used to be,” he said. “I don’t know, I feel really hopeful.”
Lady A has new music and a tour planned for late 2026 and 2027. Their next scheduled date is Dec. 10 in Ohio.
Country Stars With Cancer
Kelley’s news comes 35 days after news of Dolly Parton‘s death following a short, quiet battle with cancer. Other celebrities who’ve battled multiple myeloma include Sirius XM personality Dallas Wayne and Bruce Springsteen‘s wife Patti Scialfa.
Charles Kelley and his wife Cassie married in 2009. The couple have two kids: Son Ward, born in 2016, and son Archer, who was born in September of 2025.
He’s also brother to singer Josh Kelley.
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