Mama June Reunites With Her Cancer-Stricken Daughter: "A Very Emotional Road for the Family"
June Edith "Mama June" Shannon reunited with her eldest child, daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, while she was in the hospital battling stage 4 cancer. Photos released by The Sun show the From Not to Hot star at Cardwell's bedside, both smiling at the camera. Shannon went to see her along with Cardwell's partner, Elridge Toney, and her 10-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn. Cardwell also shares a second daughter, Kylee, 7, with her estranged husband, Michael Cardwell, to whom she was married until 2017.
The group was seen outside the hospital building alongside Anna Cardwell, who was seen in a blue headscarf. Another photo that surfaced featured all the siblings, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and Lauren "Pumpkin" Efird. Mama June's husband Justin Stroud was later seen joining the heart-melting visit.
Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 carcinoma in January which is a very rare form of cancer in which malignant cell form in the outer layer of the adrenal gland, according to the National Cancer Institute. About her daughter's diagnosis, Mama June shared via Facebook on March 30, "This is been a very emotional road for the family but we are sticking together me n Justin n Josh are doing everything we can do to b there for Anna Marie Cardwell and Eldridge Toney and the girls through this journey just pray for all of us, especially her girls we appreciate y’all so much [sic].”
According to Yahoo, on the same day, Alana Thompson took to Instagram to tell her Instagram followers, "[And] this is what I mean when I say you never truly know what somebody is going through at home, no matter how famous they are. Yes, I’m very famous, but normal sh–t happens to me and my family [and] y’all need to realize that asap."
Anna Cardwell has been a popular face ever since she appeared in TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. While the mother-daughter duo has been estranged for years, the family was seen together at Mama June's wedding to Stroud in February of 2023, when everyone walked down the aisle together at the couple's aesthetic beach wedding.
According to Hollywood Life, it was their first time being in a single space since 2014 so it was truly a very special day for them. "This was the first time the family had all been together since 2014. So it was really special to get married in a place where my family and I have had so many memories!" Mama June said in a press conference. "We wanted to have a small and very intimate wedding, so we didn’t have any groomsmen or bridesmaids. All four of my girls walked me down to Justin, and his mom walked him down the aisle."
