Singer Ashley Monroe is known for her solo career, being one-third of the band Pistol Annies, and for her “Lonely Tonight” duet with Blake Shelton. She is also a loving wife and a mother to three-year-old son, Dalton William Danks.
View this post on Instagram
In an Instagram post on July 13, Monroe revealed she was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia. She revealed that a few months ago, she was getting routine blood work done when her doctors found out she was anemic.
She did all the necessary things to treat anemia, but her red blood cells wouldn’t get to the normal numbers. After a bone marrow biopsy, they found the cancer.
“It’s causing my body to be pretty severely anemic, and I feel it,” she wrote. “So, I start chemo tomorrow.”
Monroe wrote that she is very thankful that her illness is “liveable” and treatable. She thanked her friends and family for being there for her, sending her flowers, giving her advice, and much more. The Pistol Annies singer said she is “Thankful for my angel son. Who I am fighting for the most.”
She finished the post by writing, “I could use the prayers.. and I DO believe in the power of prayer guys. I also believe in the power of love healing us all on an even deeper level. I love you all big. Here I go…”
In the post, which included eight photos, she revealed that she was with her “sisters” the day she found out about her diagnosis, alluding to her Pistol Annies bandmates Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley.
We will keep Monroe in our prayers as she fights this!
See her full post below.
View this post on Instagram
During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, she gave fans an update on how she has been faring during her cancer battle.
“I’ve gotten through two cycles now of chemo,” she said. “Each cycle is back to back, once a month. It’s hard, I’ll be honest. It doesn’t feel good the day of and the week after, but I feel like I’ve bounced back a little quicker this time than my first time. I’ve got a lot of support. I definitely feel people praying.”
She does admit that the chemo does make her feel sick and revealed that the cancer she has “will never go away,” but her treatments will help “keep it at bay.” Monroe told the publication that hers doctors have said this typer of cancer “is for life.”
Because her immune system is now compromised, she has to be extremely careful about getting sick. Even a cold could do some serious damage.
“What my doctors have stressed to me now, my biggest danger is getting an infection or getting sick, even getting a cold, just because my immune system is so low. That’s what I’ve been told: just don’t get sick.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still pretty bad, she has stayed home “everyday” to protect herself.
During her time at home, she recorded a new album titled The Covers with Tyler Cain, which includes collaborations with Ruston Kelly, Brittney Spencer. See the announcement below.