Anna Cardwell's 2023 Cancer Update: What Her Family Shared

Anna Cardwell died at 29 on December 9, 2023, her mother announced the following day. That matters when you come across her family's earlier cancer updates: those interviews described a particular moment in 2023, rather than an ongoing treatment plan. In July, her mother, June Shannon, had told Entertainment Tonight that her eldest daughter's illness was terminal. Cardwell was also known to television viewers as Chickadee.

A family update, dated July 2023

In ET's July 12, 2023 interview, Shannon said Cardwell had completed four rounds of chemotherapy for stage 4 adrenal carcinoma. Shannon appeared alongside daughters Lauryn Efird and Alana Thompson as they discussed how the family was coping. The word terminal was Shannon's description of her daughter's prognosis. It was a mother's public account, not a statement from Cardwell's medical team or a prediction about everyone with the same diagnosis.

Everyday activities weren't a prognosis

Efird described her sister driving, shopping for groceries and taking her children places. Thompson also said the illness and treatment sometimes left Cardwell worn down. Those details belonged to that family's experience at that point in time. A person being able to run an errand doesn't establish that their cancer is improving. Nor can a brief interview show you everything happening between appointments, at home or during treatment.

What adrenocortical carcinoma means

The National Cancer Institute describes adrenocortical carcinoma as a rare cancer that starts in the adrenal gland's outer layer, called the cortex. You have two adrenal glands, one above each kidney. The cortex makes hormones involved in functions including blood pressure and the body's balance of water and salt. Some tumors produce extra hormones; others don't. This is a specific cancer type, rather than another name for kidney cancer. General information about it can't tell you the details of Cardwell's medical record.

Discussing an option isn't receiving it

Shannon said immunotherapy or clinical trials were possible next steps under consideration. That didn't confirm Cardwell had enrolled in a study or started either option. The NCI's treatment guide explains that clinical trials are research studies assessing treatments, including their safety and effectiveness. Discussing a trial doesn't mean a treatment has been proved to work, and eligibility varies between studies. If you're looking for information about your own care, take treatment questions to your cancer team rather than using a celebrity's family interview as a plan.