Features
Franklin Update
While media outlets reported Aretha Franklin has cancer, family members insisted the Queen Of Soul is doing better than expected and will return to the concert stage in 2011.
Citing a source “familiar with the situation,” The Detroit News reported Dec. 8 that the singer is suffering from pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, Franklin’s cousin told the Detroit Free Press that she “is doing better than doctors expected” and could be released from the hospital this weekend.
“She [Franklin] has a long life in front of her and will be back in concert, on stage, late spring or early summer,” said cousin Brenda Corbett who has been visiting the singer regularly since she entered the hospital and underwent a planned, yet so far undisclosed, surgical procedure.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said he had visited Franklin four or five times and her “spirits are high and her faith is strong.”
Since its initial report, The Detroit News cited three sources described as “close to the singer’s friends and family” confirming the cancer report. The Free Press also acknowledged that multiple reports of Franklin suffering from pancreatic cancer emerged, and pointed out that family members nor the star’s press agent had commented on them other than to say she’s doing well.
Franklin has a history of keeping her private life out of the limelight, and it’s not surprising her family members and press representatives haven’t officially commented on the cancer reports.
However, with conflicting stories coming out of Detroit regarding the singer’s health, it might be wise for those closest to her to go on the record instead of leaking information that the singer is seriously ill while others officially claim she’s getting better.
Photo: AP Photo
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