Cancer (disease)

KELLY Clarkson has given a rare glimpse at her family life with her two children following the death of their father, Brandon Blackstock. 

The TV host and Breakaway singer, 43, has been keeping her children River, 11, and nine-year-old Remington (known as Remy) away from the spotlight, even more so since Brandon died in August last year.

While she never addressed him directly, a new video on the YouTube Channel for The Kelly Clarkson Show saw the star speak a bit about what life looks like now for them. 

Speaking in a Q+A, Kelly was asked by a fan: “’What is the one thing you do every day that brings you joy?” 

As Kelly was getting final touches of make-up put on her before going on stage, she beamed as she said: “Snuggle. Oh my God. My kids… look, they’re nine and eleven, they’re that special little fun stage where they can wipe their own behinds, but they’re still small enough to, like, love cuddling and love snuggles.” 

“There’s been a lot for our family recently, and so I have allowed my kids to sleep with me quite a bit,” she added. “So it’s my two dogs, my two kids and me. It’s a lot.

“It’s been really special though, because the conversations you have during that time are pretty cute. So that’s probably my favorite time of day.” 

She also revealed that, when they were little, she would sing Once Upon a Dream from Cinderella as a lullaby to get them to sleep. 

Kelly and Brandon divorced in 2022 after nine years of marriage. He was the son of her former manager, Narvel Blackstock, and former stepson of country singer, Reba McEntire.

During their marriage, Brandon acted as Kelly’s manager, but they split in 2020 with their divorce only being finalised two years later. 

He was living at a $1.7million ranch in Montana with his partner before his death.

In August last year, Brandon died at the age of 48, after a private three-year battle with melanoma. 

A day before his death, Kelly announced she was postponing her planned residency in Las Vegas in order to focus on spending time with her kids.

River and Remy are the youngest of Brandon’s four children, with the music businessman having Savannah and Seth with his first wife, Melissa Ashworth.

A day later, Starstruck Entertainment, the agency where Blackstock worked, confirmed that he had died.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” they wrote in the statement first published by People.

“Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years.

“He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family.

“We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”

THE founding member of the legendary rock band Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, has died.

Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025 which he overcame, however he sadly “succumbed to underlying lung issues”.

The veteran rocker was 78.

“He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could,” a heartfelt statement on his Instagram account read.

“Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.

“His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them.

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“Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.”

Across more than six decades, Weir was one of music’s true road warriors, performing thousands of shows with almost a dozen bands.

Weir received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, while his rhythm guitar skills helped guide legendary jam band through the decades.

Weir was born in 1947 in San Francisco and was adopted shortly after his birth by Frederic and Eleanor Weir.

Growing up in a comfortable and prominent Bay Area household, Weir discovered folk music in his youth after a nanny introduced him to jazz.

He started piano and trumpet before finding his calling with guitar at age 13.

He had a tough time in school – surviving spinal meningitis and dealing with severe dyslexia.

A chance encounter with Jerry Garcia at the age of 16 in a music store in Palo Alto would start one of the most important partnerships in music history.

Garcia was a bluegrass banjo player when Weir stumbled upon him at Dana Morgan’s Music Store.

The two formed Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which later became the Warlocks and eventually the Grateful Dead. 

The Grateful Dead quickly became a huge part of the counterculture movement, aligned with the rise of the hippie movement.

Weir penned some of the Dead’s most enduring songs, including “Jack Straw,” “Sugar Magnolia” and “Playing in the Band.”

The pair went on to become the faces of the Grateful Dead – Weir younger and more boyish than his hairier and older bandmates.

The youthful, ponytailed “Bobby” grew into an eclectic songwriter whose handsome appearance and diverse musical influences helped broaden the band’s appeal.

British newspaper The Independent called Weir “arguably rock’s greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist.”

Weir considered Garcia as a big brother.

“They say that blood is thicker than water, and what we had was way thicker than blood,” Weir said of Garcia and the Dead in an interview with journalist Dan Rather.

Sadly, Garcia passed away in 1995.

After Garcia’s death at age 53 in 1995, Weir carved out an interesting if somewhat neglected solo career – much of it with his band, RatDog – and participated in reunions of surviving Dead members in different configurations.

Weir released his first solo album, Ace, in 1972, followed by 1978’s Heaven Help the Fool. His last LP was the 2016 album Blue Mountain.

The legendary rocker married Natascha Münter in 1999. They share two daughters, Shala Monet and Chloe Kaelia.

Weir was a staunch vegetarian and an animal-rights advocate.

He was a board member of the Rex Foundation, an organisation founded by members of the Grateful Dead to “proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavours in the arts, sciences, and education.”

Weir began treatment for cancer only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park.

A BELOVED influencer, actor and Broadway star has died after a lengthy battle with a rare form of cancer.

Bret Hanna-Shuford, 46, passed away just days after posting a heartbreaking photo from his hospital bed of him smiling alongside his husband.

Dad-of-one Bret shared a positive Christmas Day picture where he tragically looked ahead to 2026 and said “hope to see you all soon”.

On Saturday, his partner Stephen Hanna confirmed the sad news that Bret had peacefully passed away.

Stephen said: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that early this morning we said goodbye to the most amazing man, husband and Papa in the universe.

“Bret Hanna-Shuford left this world peacefully with love surrounded by his family.

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“Our hearts are broken but we will continue to make him proud of us.”

He leaves behind his young three-year-old son, Maverick.

The actor, who had roles in the Wolf of Wall Street, Little Mermaid and Wicked, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer over the summer.

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and T-Cell Lymphoma – both rare disorders – left Bret in and out of hospital in his final months.

Both cancers attack the body’s immune system with T-Cell Lymphoma being among the deadliest forms of the disease.

Bret and Stephen were best known for their ever-growing social media page which detailed their family life.

Broadway Husbands managed to amass over 255,000 followers at the time of Bret’s death.

The account would go on to update followers on Bret’s health in recent months.

In October, he revealed he spent three days unconscious in the ICU due to the disease attacking his immune system.

His illness also forced Bret to step away from his graduate studies at the University of Central Florida.

The couple had only just moved into their new home in Orlando at the time.

A GoFundMe was launched for the Broadway star in August.

As of Saturday evening, the page has raised over $315,000 of its $350,000 fundraising goal.

One of the final posts on the fundraiser from December 12, stated how Bret had been in hospital since Thanksgiving.

A post from a friend read: “As many of you may have noticed, posts have been rather radio silent from both Bret and Stephen.

“These past few weeks have been some of the toughest that they have faced in this cancer journey. Bret has been in the hospital since just before Thanksgiving.”

But Bret was believed to have been improving health wise.

“As of today, Bret is looking and feeling better. His liver enzymes have plateaued, which is good, and he is back in the right direction with his oxygen,” the post continued.

He also directed an episode of the Emmy Award-winning Hulu series Only Murders in the Building in 2023, according to his IMDb page.

Bret is also known for his acting and producing work on Disney Royals, Disney Animazent Trio IRL, and In Rehearsal with… Stranger Things the Musical.

He and Stephen, who works at Walt Disney World, tied the knot in April 2011.

TRISHA Goddard danced with joy as she celebrated reaching 68 years old amid her terminal cancer diagnosis.

The TV legend shared a deeply personal and positive message for fans as she marked the milestone while living with cancer.

The veteran broadcaster appeared overjoyed in the video, which she captioned: “If dem ask me how me feel turning 68 today & living with metastatic breast cancer.”

The Celebrity Big Brother star has secondary breast cancer, also referred to as metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer. 

She is also living with Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition that restricts blood flow to the fingers and toes.

Raynaud’s can develop as a side effect of certain cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, and may cause skin colour changes along with sensations such as numbness or burning.

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Despite her health challenges, Trisha was in celebratory spirits as she looked ahead to Christmas week.

In the clip, she smiled, danced and proudly declared: “I made it!”

Reflecting on her diagnosis, she said: “When you first hear those words,

“‘Your cancer has come back’ and every time you look at the news, your eye seems to be drawn to the words CANCER and TERMINAL, you think that’s it.”

She went on to explain how perspectives on the illness have shifted.

She said: “But scientists and the Medical world have re-classified metastatic cancer to being a LIFE LIMITING illness, for good reason.

“New drugs, new treatments, new medical breakthroughs.

“There’s a whole list of people I’d like to thank.”

Trisha then paid tribute to those who have supported her throughout her journey.

She added: “My darling husband and kids.

“My fantastic Oncology team and nurses, my darling friends who haven’t ghosted me, and YOU out there.

“Your kind words, laughter and encouragement means I celebrate you all!”

Trisha was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2023, having first got the disease in 2008.

She bravely opened up about the gruelling side effects of a “wonder drug” that she is taking to help prolong her life during her stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

I’ve stopped being scared before scans now.

“My cancer count has come down and down and down, this drug is working,

“But this new drug, that people hail as a wonder drug… what people don’t know, is it is one of the most vicious drugs to take.

Talking about the side affects she said: “(I get) Terrible constipation muscle aches, taste affected, eye sight affected.

“But if I hadn’t have had it, I wouldn’t be here, so it’s last call at the rodeo drug.”

Trisha was told three years ago her cancer had reached staged four.

However, she waited until last year to break the news of her terminal diagnosis.

LEGENDARY British singer-songwriter Chris Rea has tragically passed away aged 74.

The singer, from Middlesbrough, penned the smash hit Driving Home For Christmas in 1978.

Christopher Rea was born on 4 March 1951 in Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire to an Italian father, Camillo Rea, and an Irish mother, Winifred K. Slee.

In 1973 he joined the local Middlesbrough band, Magdalene and began writing songs.

He went on to enjoy a long and sucesfull career on the British music scene.

His most famous song Driving Home for Christmas, song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007.

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It’s now a chart regular at this time of year, reaching its highest position in 2021 when it made it to number 10.

Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of just 33 and faced nine serious operations – spending a total of 32 weeks in hospital.

While appearing on the TV show Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing Christmas special in 1994 Rea told the hosts he had “never really gotten over” his diagnosis.

He has previously opened up on his health battle, revealing that some of his internal organs, his pancreas, gallbladder, and left quadrant of the liver were “all gone” after an operation.

It was after he had received the lifesaving surgery that the star discovered he had type 1 diabetes.

Speaking candidly about the moment he told his wife Joan Lesley about the diagnosis Rea said: “She pulled the car over and burst into tears.”

Chris has previously said he has to take “34 pills every day” after his health struggles.

His wife Joan was there when the hitmaker wrote the Christmas favourite Driving Home for Christmas.

The pair have been together since they met as 16 year olds in Middlesbrough and it is said Rea has the longest surviving relationship in the music industry.

The couple have two daughters together Josephine, born 16 September 1983, and Julia Christina, born 18 March 1989.

Speaking to Bob Mortimer about its origins, Chris previously said: “I was on the dole when I wrote that.

“My manager had just left me. I’d just been banned from driving.

“My now wife, Joan, had to drive down to London to pick me up in the Mini and take me home, and that’s when I wrote it.”

That Christmas drive up north was a magical one indeed, not only did he write a famous song, he also received a cheque for £15,000 upon stepping through his front door.

His song Fool (if you think it’s over) had become a hit in America and earned him a pretty sum. The timing couldn’t have been better given he was down to his last £200.

It was a while before Driving Home would make any money.

ACTRESS Angelina Jolie bravely bares her mastectomy scars in solidarity with other women battling cancer. 

The Oscar-winning star, 50, showed the effects of her life-saving operation, when she had both breasts removed 12 years ago, in a bold photoshoot. 

She told Time France magazine: “I share these scars with many women I love. And I’m always moved when I see others share theirs.” 

Posing on the cover of the December issue in a low-cut jumper, with her hand covering her chest, the mum of six said she hoped the move would help raise awareness of the disease. 

The star had both breasts removed and reconstructive surgery in 2013 after finding out she has the BRCA1 gene mutation, which meant her chances of getting cancer were high. 

Following her double mastectomy, Lara Croft star Jolie also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventive measure. 

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She lost her mum, French actress Marcheline Bertrand, to ovarian cancer in 2007.  

Her grandmother and aunt also died from cancer. 

Jolie added: “Every woman should always be able to determine her own healthcare journey and have the information she needs to make informed choices. 

“Genetic testing and screening should be accessible and affordable for women with clear risk factors or a significant family history.”  

Jolie, who settled her eight-year divorce battle with ex Brad Pitt, 61, a year ago, is currently working on upcoming film Couture. 

In the fashion drama, she plays Maxine Walker, a US filmmaker diagnosed with breast cancer.