Ashley Monroe Reveals She Was Diagnosed With a Rare Form of Cancer

Ashley Monroe has revealed she is suffering from a rare type of cancer that affects her blood cells and bone marrow.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter revealed the news on Instagram, announcing she’s beginning chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The first sign of Monroe's disease came several months ago when some routine blood work revealed she had anaemia – a condition where the body doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body, often causing symptoms like fatigue and weakness.

“I was like, FINE, I’ll just double up on cheeseburger patties, take some extra vitamins and call it a day. Well my red blood count just kept falling, and they found out my iron /b12/ folic acid numbers were actually fine,” she wrote.

In her ultimately positive note, Monroe continued to describe her diagnosis as "an illness that is VERY live with-able." She sought treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and has begun chemotherapy – a treatment consisting of drugs that kill fast-growing cancer. 

"I’m thankful there IS a treatment that actually works to fight what is causing harm to my body," Monroe said in the post. "THANKFUL for friends and family who have gathered around me praying and sending flowers and letting me lean on them during this super weird chapter of my life.” 

Monroe debuted Grammy-nominated country group The Pistol Annies alongside Angaleena Presley and Miranda Lambert in 2011. As a solo artist, Monroe released her fifth studio album, Rosegold earlier this year. She has collaborated with some of country’s biggest names including Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. She has been married to former Chicago White Sox starting pitcher John Danks since 2013 and their son Dalton was born in 2017.

You can follow Ashley Monroe on her journey on Facebook here.

For more breaking news from CountryTown, check out here.

Image: via Facebook