Lady A's Charles Kelley Diagnosed With Rare Blood Cancer

Charles Kelley, co-lead vocalist and founding member of the country band Lady A, announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer.

Kelley, 43, shared the news in an Instagram video captioned "A little health update."

"Hey everybody. Just wanted to give a quick update on some health issues I'm dealing with," Kelley said. "I had [a] couple random rib fractures that happened, which sparked my doctor into having me do several different blood tests. And one of the last blood tests we did, they found a blood cancer in there called multiple myeloma, and it's rare."

The diagnosis followed what Kelley described as unexplained rib fractures, which prompted his doctor to order the blood work that revealed the disease.

Despite the diagnosis, Kelley emphasized his optimism about his prognosis, pointing to recent advances in treatment.

"I'm young, I feel healthy, and the treatments I will say have just come so far, even in the past five years," he said. "Even life expectancy just far exceeds what it used to be and, I don't know, I feel really hopeful. I really do."

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Kelley did not specify when he received the diagnosis or detail his treatment plan.

In the video, Kelley drew a parallel between confronting his illness and his public journey with alcohol addiction, which he has discussed openly in recent years.

"Just getting this stuff off your chest is so freeing, and it takes the power away from it a little bit that we want to let y'all know what was going on," Kelley said. "But we're going to get through it. You know, I think in sobriety it's all about one day at a time and that we're not in control, and so that's the way we're looking at it."

Kelley's sobriety became public in 2022, when the band — then still touring under the name Lady Antebellum before shortening it to Lady A — postponed the remainder of its Request Line Tour to support what the group described as his "journey to sobriety."

He closed the announcement by telling fans he is "hopeful" and will "try" to keep them informed as he moves forward with treatment.

"It's just another hurdle, and you know, I'm confident that we're going to get through it," Kelley said.

Lady A's schedule currently remains unchanged. The group — Kelley alongside Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — is set to perform a run of Christmas shows from Dec. 10 through Dec. 21 as part of its This Winter's Night tour, suggesting the band intends to stay on the road as Kelley begins treatment.