Mama June Reveals Daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's Cancer Is 'Terminal'

Mama June Shannon is providing an update on her eldest daughter’s cancer battle.

Back in April, sources close to the famous family revealed to TMZ that Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell had been diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, a rare cancer which forms on the outer layer of the adrenal gland, in January of this year.

The 28-year-old began her first round of chemotherapy in March, two months after diagnosis. It was immediately clear how serious this was. Her From Not to Hot star mother moved back to their home state of Georgia to help provide care, despite an infamously strained relationship between the two.

Since then, word has been relatively quiet on the young star’s trying health battle, but Mama June has an update. And it’s not a good one, we’re afraid.

Wednesday, the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo alum opened up to Entertainment Tonight about her oldest daughter’s current state, trying to be positive:

“She’s actually doing pretty good. She’s handling it pretty good.”

Anna’s sisters Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird and Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson were also present for the interview, with Lauryn sharing that her big sis is “genuinely OK.” She shared:

“She can still go to the grocery store, she can drive herself, she’s still able to take the kids to and from places.”

Anna, of course, shares daughters Kaitlyn, 10, and Kylee, 7, with ex-husband Michael Cardwell.

Lauryn added that her sister “doesn’t have hair, she has no eyebrows, she doesn’t have any hair on her arms or anything like that,” a result of her aggressive treatments. Mama June then chimed back in, informing the outlet that Anna has now completed four rounds of chemotherapy, and Lauryn noted she’s been handling it all pretty well:

“A lot of people thought that it was gonna make her sick and stuff like that, [but] she’s able to bounce back pretty quick.”

Alana added:

“It does wear her body down sometimes, but other than that, she’s pretty good.”

As for how Anna’s young daughters are handling the situation? Well, Lauryn explained that it’s not fully clicking for either of them just yet:

“The 10-year-old is aware, I don’t think she fully understands. I think she understands that Mommy is sick and Mommy might not be here for a while… She’s 10, but she’s a lot more mature than that because she’s been raised around older people.”

“Mommy might not be here.” Oof. She continued:

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

On the other hand, Kylee is “too young to understand,” according to Alana.

Mama June noted the whole situation has been really “scary,” and that they don’t really know “what to expect” as the cancer is “very aggressive”:

“For me, it’s an emotional rollercoaster sometimes. Mentally it’s always on my mind.”

That’s when she revealed that, as positive as everyone is being, they now know Chickadee’s cancer is “terminal.” She shared:

“We know it’s terminal. She’s stage 4. She’s not gonna go into remission. We’ve all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time ’cause you never know.”

How sad…

Lauryn, though, is remaining optimistic:

“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. Think about how quick they came out with a COVID vaccine and things like that. I truly believe eventually there will be a cure for some kind of cancer.”

Alana added: