Lady A Singer Charles Kelley Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Charles Kelley, co-lead vocalist of country music band Lady A (previously known as Lady Antebellum), recently revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer. The 45 year old American is best known for hits performed with Lady A such as Need You Now and Just a Kiss.

Kelley first announced his diagnosis on September 29, 2026 on Instagram. In the video, Kelley shared that he had “a couple of random rib fractures”, which led to his doctors administering a few blood tests.

In one of the last blood tests that he did, the doctors discovered that Kelley had a rare type of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma occurs when plasma cells in the bone marrow become abnormal and start to divide uncontrollably. According to the American Cancer Society, the average lifetime risk of getting multiple myeloma in the United States is less than 1%.

“It’s rare. But I’m young, I feel healthy, and the treatments, I will say, have just come so far even in the past five years, that even the life expectancy far exceeds what it used to be,” Kelley shared.

Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Kelley remained resilient and optimistic. He shared that he strongly believes that “it’s just another hurdle” and he is “going to get through it”. He also added that he does not plan to stop working and will continue to make music whilst undergoing treatment at the same time.

"Right now I feel great and we've got a new record coming out soon with Lady A and then we've got Christmas shows. This first six months of treatment I believe is not going to be too invasive. I can still work. I think physically I will feel like myself. I will have tough days, but I want to keep working,” he shared.

Previously, in 2022, Kelley had sought treatment for alcohol addiction. This year marks the fourth year of his sobriety. Excessive consumption of alcohol is a risk factor for cancer, especially liver cancer. He shared that it was his wife that motivated him to stop drinking.

“She’s the reason that I got sober. She had so much grace for me and went along through the journey with me doing all the work, and I could go so far as to say there’s no way she would’ve stayed with me if I had not gotten sober,” he recalled.