Aretha Franklin Reportedly Has Pancreatic Cancer
Soul legend Aretha Franklin has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to reports in The Detroit News , Detroit’s Fox 2 and The National Enquirer — though phone calls by Rolling Stone to two Franklin representatives were not returned. (The News credits “a source familiar with the situation”; Fox 2 says its source is a relative of Franklin’s.)
Aretha Franklin: Rolling Stone’s No. 1 Singer Of All Time
Franklin recently canceled all of her tour dates through May 2011 and last week had a surgery for an unknown ailment. In a statement, the singer called her surgery “highly successful,” though Detroit residents held a prayer vigil for the singer last week, and Jesse Jackson visited her in the hospital last Friday.
Pancreatic cancer is a particularly lethal form of the disease. Most people die within one year of the diagnosis, and less than five percent of them live more than five years.
Aretha Franklin Stricken With Cancer [Detroit News]
Aretha Franklin Has Cancer [Fox 2]
Aretha Franklin Cancer [National Enquirer]