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Such awful news. The world of music has been enriched so much by Aretha Franklin.
Aretha Franklin, hospitalized twice in recent weeks, has cancer, a relative confirms to Detroit television station WJBK after the National Enquirer earlier reported that the Queen of Soul has incurable pancreatic cancer.…Franklin is doing “okay,” the Franklin relative tells the TV station, but her family is asking for continued prayers and support. Pancreatic cancer, which claimed the life of actor Patrick Swayze last year, is not typically detected early and spreads fast, so it has a low survival rate.
I tear up just watching this and thinking of the contributions of the Queen of Soul. May her remaining days be free of pain and that she knows how many feel for her. Her music in the 60s was an essential part of my childhood and always reminds me of my late aunt Judi (photo), who played Aretha’s songs on 45s down in the basement of her home in Queens for us to listen to.
Related:
* Memorial: You are home with mom, Judi
7 Comments
“Incurable pancreatic cancer” is like saying a “hot sun”It is the absolute worst type of cancer to get, the five year survival rate is 5% (according to Wikipedia) and I only hope the Queen of Soul is being kept comfortable. My mother died of this horrible cancer nearly 14 years ago, and it is a death I would not wish on someone like Tom Delay, never mind someone who has contributed so much to the world of music.
Horrible news indeedSending her my best thoughts…
One of my favorites:
Awwwww……how terribleI’m really sad. She was something else….who can forget her wonderful hat at Pres. Obama’s inauguration.
As a native Detroiter and a queenwho worships at the altar of Diva Aretha…this is devastating.
sad newsI hope her suffering is minimal, pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease.
Thoughts and peace to Aretha.
My favorite tooShe had an awful time doing the movie, as she’s a “sing as you feel right” performer. The movie required that she record a track then perform it EXACTLY the same again, lip-synching for the camera. It literally took all day to get this sequence to match up with the studio one.
And I will always remember the video that went with her almost return to pop stardom, “Freeway of Love.”
Some hopeA few pancreatic cancers are resectable. In those, a whipple procedure (taking off the head of the pancreas) can lead to 5-year survival rates of 30%. It sounds as if Ms Franklin might have had such a procedure.
I helped a friend who had pancreatic cancer once – unresectable. We thought she might be in the 5%, but at 2 years after diagnosis, she fell and dislodged a clump of cells. She was dead within a week.
Most die within 6 months of diagnosis. Live longer than that, and the odds climb steeply, so at 2 years it’s 50/50. Tragically, few do get that far.
I’m so sorry about your mom.