Despite ups and downs, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s family is supporting the eldest child as she fights stage 4 adrenal carcinoma after being given the news in January.
“We actually arrive. Mama June Shannon, 43, and her husband, Justin Stroud, 35, regularly attend treatment, according to Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird, their daughter.
The family gained notoriety following the appearance of Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, Shannon’s sister, on TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. Honey Boo Boo later earned her own show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which followed the lives of Shannon and her four daughters, including Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon.
After years of animosity and public jabs, Anna, 28, and her mother reconnected at June’s second wedding to Justin in February of last year.
However, Lauryn tells PEOPLE that the Mama June: Family Crisis actress and her husband are now an important source of support for Anna after the cancer in her liver, kidney, and lung was found after a series of tests when Anna began complaining of stomach aches.
“One week a month they stay with her in an Airbnb, so she’s close to the hospital in case she has a reaction once she gets home and things like that,” says Lauryn, who has five children, including Alana, now 17, for whom she was granted full custody last June.
June also announced in May that she and Justin would relocate from Alabama to Georgia to support Cardwell during his chemotherapy.
As Alana and Lauryn frequently travel to see each other, Lauryn tells PEOPLE.
“For me and Alana, we come up usually once to twice a week, sit with her through treatment, talk to her, and then go back to the Airbnb and maybe do dinner and things with her,” says Lauryn, 23.
We all just try to check in to make sure she doesn’t need anything or isn’t in bad shape when she is at home for the remainder of the month. “.
On social media, Anna, the mother of Kaitlyn, 11, and Kylee, 7, has been giving sporadic but honest updates on her condition.
In an Instagram post with her longtime partner Eldridge Toney, Anna stated, “It was a pretty good day.”. “Cracker Barrel was good going down, but not up; overall, it’s going well, and chemo is working, we discover, so things are looking good,” said the spokesperson. ” .
It can be an emotional rollercoaster for me at times. June stated to Entertainment Tonight, “Mentally, it’s always on my mind, and we know it’s terminal. “.
She is stage 4. She won’t enter remission, she assured. We’ve all come to terms with that, so I just advise people to take each day as it comes because you never know. “.
