Mama June Shares Update on Daughter Anna's Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis

In January 2023, Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, TMZ first reported. At that time, the 28-year-old underwent a series of tests after complaining about stomachaches, which is when it was discovered that the reality star had cancer in her kidney, liver, and lung.

In an exclusive May 2023 interview with Distractify, Anna's mom, "Mama June" Shannon, opened up about her eldest daughter's cancer diagnosis, and how the crisis has brought her and her daughters closer together.

Then, in July 2023, after Anna completed chemotherapy, Mama June told Entertainment Tonight that Anna's diagnosis was terminal, but that they were taking things day by day and holding out hope.

Below, we take a look at the timeline of events regarding Anna's health.

Anna underwent her first chemotherapy treatment in March 2023.

"We take one day at a time," June told Distractify a couple months later in May. "It’s hard on all of us. But I know it's even harder on Anna because she's the one having to live with it."

At the time, June said that Anna lives with June and her husband, Justin Stroud, at their home in Alabama. The couple, along with Anna's three sisters, who make trips from Georgia, would alternate taking her to and from her chemotherapy treatments.

"It's a lot traveling back and forth. But it's something that we knew we were gonna have to do being in two different states," the reality TV star added. "Sometimes you have to do stuff that you might not want to do. But it's stuff that you know, you have to."

Among the people that Anna hadn't received support from during that time, however, was the rest of their family. Aside from Anna's longtime boyfriend, Eldridge, June said only her daughters and her husband had been there for Anna.

"No other family members are there during this time, and they have to live with that — not me [nor] Justin, [nor] the girls have to live with that. The other family members have to live with that at the end of the day," June said.

Anna completed four rounds of chemotherapy treatment by July 2023, which is when Mama June gave an update to Entertainment Tonight about how things were going. June and daughters Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson told the outlet that Anna was doing all right, though she sometimes feels worn down.

June said that Anna's 10-year-old daughter Kaitlyn is somewhat aware of the situation, while her 7-year-old daughter Kylee is too young to really understand.

"Kaitlyn was always close with Anna, but now she doesn't go anywhere without Anna," June said. "I get that because she's thinking if Anna goes somewhere then maybe Anna might not be at the house when she gets back."

The next steps for Anna could include immune therapy or clinical trials, but Mama June said Anna doesn't know what she'd like to do yet.

"She just wants to see how it's gonna go," June explained. "We don't know what to expect because the cancer is very aggressive and it grew from nothing to something huge on the left side of her body really fast."

June said that they "know it's terminal" and have accepted this, but are holding out hope for future treatments.

"Honestly, who's not to say a year from now they'll have a cure. The medical field is growing every single day. There's always something," she said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, adrenal carcinoma is a rare form of cancer in which malignant cells form on the outer layer of the adrenal gland. The most common symptom is severe pain in the abdomen.

The adrenal glands are two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys, and each one of your kidneys has one of these glands.

The adrenal glands normally release important hormones that help regulate blood pressure, balance the water and salt in the body, and cause the body to have masculine or feminine characteristics.

Having certain genetic conditions can increase a person's risk of adrenal carcinoma, including Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and Carney complex.

Reporting by Pretty Honore