Sheryl Crow has endured a rather difficult road with her health in the past decade or so — she famously battled breast cancer in 2006 and came back swinging. Now Sheryl has revealed that, after experiencing problems with memory loss (including forgetting some of her own lyrics onstage), she went in for an MRI and learned that she’s got a brain tumor. Luckily though, the tumor is benign! At this point, Sheryl doesn’t plan to have surgery, which is probably because her doctors aren’t yet aware whether the tumor will grow. Where the brain is concerned, surgery for a benign growth could present more risks than benefits. Still it’s scary to even think about the prospect of a tumor in one’s brain even though Sheryl doesn’t seem terribly upset about it; in fact, she seems almost relieved to learn that she wasn’t imagining her memory issues. Here’s part of the interview with Review Journal in which Sheryl reveals that she has the tumor:
Sheryl Crow has a brain tumor, but she’s not worried about it because it’s benign. She gave me this startling news with a smile during an otherwise lovely interview.
“I worried about my memory so much that I went and got an MRI. And I found out I have a brain tumor,” Crow said Friday in a suite at The Hotel in Mandalay Bay.
“And I was, like, ‘See? I knew there was something wrong.'”
I didn’t know whether Sheryl was joking or not because we had just been laughing about how she recently forgot some lyrics on stage. But she wasn’t kidding.
“I haven’t really talked about it,” she said. “In November, I found out I have a brain tumor. But it’s benign, so I don’t have to worry about it. But it gives me a fit.”
A month ago, Sheryl forgot part of “Soak Up the Sun” on stage in Florida. She told fans, “I’m 50, what can I say? My brain’s gone to (expletive).”
“Oh gosh,” she told me. “I will tell you a funny story. I have a history of forgetting my lyrics.”
At the Hard Rock Hotel in the 1990s, she forgot the intro to “A Change Would Do You Good.”
“Not only could I not remember the first line, I couldn’t remember the first line to any of the verses. I started laughing so hard! And I looked over at my guitar player, and he’s bent over like he’s gonna just start peeing.”
“I think that was the night a whole bunch of us wound up at a strip club. It was Brad Pitt, and Mick Jagger and Sting! It was just cuckoo crazy, and I was still just getting started, you know. I was, like, ‘Wow, Vegas. This is more than I could even dream of.'”
[From Review Journal]
Wouldn’t it be great to have stories like partying with Brad and Mick in Vegas? Forget Sting, but the other two would be phenomenal to meet. On a more serious note, I hope Sheryl’s prognosis continues to be a good one, and hopefully, she won’t need to have brain surgery to remove the tumor at a future date. Fingers crossed.
By the way, this is Sheryl in a bikini at age 50. Kill me now.
Sheryl at the We Walk The Line: A Celebration of The Music of Johnny Cash tribute in Austin on 4/20; Sheryl in Maui on 2/23; Sheryl at the EIF’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund benefit on 4/18; photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN
Wow, that’s scary news, although it’s good to hear it’s benign. I don’t know a whole lot about brain tumors (only what I’ve seen on House…) but the word tumor terrifies me every time.
Here’s hoping she’s able to stay healthy.
cosign
Everyone should be scared for her. You are right. Also,though benign a brain tumor often alters ones life in debilitating ways later on.
Yes, I’d think so. And if she’s not having it removed them her memory loss will persist, won’t it? And probably get worse.
That’s very true. I had 2 “fake brain tumors” caused by meningitis a few years back and even though they weren’t real I still have problems remembering certain things. And the headaches at times are grueling.
I’m glad it’s benign, I hope she can stay healthy. Lady is rockin that bikini..
Best of luck to her. I sometimes freak out when I haven’t had enough sleep and forget things, it must be really gruelling to find out it’s because you have a tumour in your brain.
She’s one tough cookie, I hope she kicks the tumour to the curb like she did the cancer
She seems like her attitude is in the right place, which is very important. And her body looks amazing, she put on like 5lbs and it suits her so well.
She is killing it in that bikini! Hope you get well Sheryl, you are strong woman!
Man! 50 ain’t what it used to be!
I am not nearly that fit but at almost 39 – this gives me hope for getting older.
Hot and 50 in a bikini! Go Sheryl!
That has to be scary, I wish her and her kids the best with this.
I saw her in concert a few years ago and she was awesome, made me a fan of her music for life.
Love her attitude. It seems weird and ironic that she’s dealing with similar health issues as her ex, Lance Armstrong. I thought they were meant to be until I realized what a complete and utter d-bag he is.
Well, if it keeps growing they wll have to operate unless they can’t due to where it is. I had a friend who had one when she was in her early twenties. I can’t remember if they had removed part of it or not.it had happened before I met her. But, anyway, it never caused het problems but was monitored. In her mid thirties it was growing and causing her problems. They had to operate, which is dangerous. She came out fine, but by the next day or so she became paralyzed. It was really sad.
God, that’s horrible. She came out of surgery fine, only to end up paralyzed the next day? (Completely paralyzed, or partially?)
Benign does not mean safe. Wishing her good health.
That has to be terrifying, but as she said a relief in some ways. To start having severe memory issues in your 50’s and not know what’s wrong, not knowing if you are just imagining it, if it’s early onset Alzheimers, or something worse must be really scary. Having a real thing to focus on with doctors and to have a positive attitude towards makes a big difference.
I wish her all the best with her health moving forwards.
I think your point (about worrying about it being something horribly worse, like early-onset Alzheimer’s) is probably why Sheryl (besides just being a very strong woman) is able to feel relief.
Especially considering it was her memory that caused her to realize there was a problem, as opposed to just extreme headaches.
She’s 50?!?!
When did that happen? She looks fantastic!
Love her and her singing w/ attitude but people she looks scrawny in her bikini. A one piece would look much better on her. The really cool thing is that by 50 most people (non-Hollywood) dress for themselves and don’t care what others think:-)
Best wishes to her. She’s a strong woman.
I love her! Still can’t get around the fact she’s 50! She still looks like she is in her early 30s. I would put Chelsea Handler at 50 before Sheryl. All the best to her.
I’m sure it was a relief to find out, but it’s still sad. She’s had more than her fair share and so does not deserve.
Sorry about that, but I have known her and run in the same small circles and another story of you reap what you put out in the world.
For someone who used to send death threats to every hotel her ex and new bandmates were in, she sure has stayed around. Even though I was with the gang this weekend and none have anything to do with her-they still wrote all her first two albums of stuff.
Her body has never changed, I’ll give her that. Not in 20 years that I have known her since before she got her first album out.
Good to be back here ladies. A long week off putting on a huge show and riding horses and a move to Boston. Whew!
Oh, and just for medical fact alone, depending on what type of tumor it is and where its placed. You could leave it alone, have laser or gamma knife surgery or do radiation with a targeted area like IMRT.
Oh god, this will devastate my brother. lol. He’s loved her since her debut. I had to listen to every new Sheryl album there was until he moved out. She seemed so… nice and NOT batshit.
I could tell all day epic stories about her. We all met in 93 when we were all broke playing at a ski resort for lift tickets. We were both the girlfriends and she sang one song, not well.
She was with my husband’s musical partner and our best friend, whom she later dumped after he wrote her first record and gave her a start.
Had the audacity to show up at the funeral too.
Someday I will tell my funniest story, but not on this thread. She’s got a brain tumor and all.
OT-I seem to remember hearing about a kerfuffle (I just wanted to use that word) with ex band mates (Tuesday Night Music Club)regarding who did what music/lyrics for the record.
However, having heard nothing, obviously everyone took the high road? or the ex band mates did.
Perhaps my memory is failing but I also seem to recall that back in the day, Crow, was quite the partier.
Having said that, a benign brain tumor is something to be very concerned about because if it grows, it could impact speech, walking and a host of other abilities. I have a friend going through this but she is in her 80’s and the risk of surgery is too high. It breaks my heart because she is like a second mother.
Sheryl has two children, if I’m not mistaken, and I wish her the best. She seems very health conscious at this point in her life. I think she looks amazing in a two piece at 50. She looks quite good. I wish her well.
Jeez. You really never can tell about people… She really seemed like one of the nicer ‘celebrity’ artists out there, but obviously she’s either changed a lot since then, or wears the mask well.
Someone above mentioned thinking she & Lance Armstrong were really suited to eachother, until finding out Lance was a real douchebag… Maybe they were more suited than we’d like to admit? ^^”
@OriginalTiffany – Good to see you back! Sounds like a busy week o.o
wow! I didnt know she was 50.
I have a lot of empathy for her with the memory ting b/c Im going thru a bit of that myself but its not from a tumor (that I know of). Its absolutely scary to not remember things or you do things but dont remember doing them. I have to constantly second guess myself on just about everything b/c I dont trust my own recollection of things.
@Macey – “ Its absolutely scary to not remember things or you do things but dont remember doing them.”
I got a taste of what that was like myself, after an unfortunate head injury. It’s frightening in a way that’s hard to describe, since your mind/memories are what make you… yourself. I did & said a lot of things that I have no recollection of whatsoever, & denied when my mother told me about it later.
When I went back in, the doctors said it was just the side effect of hitting my head so hard, & that it wasn’t at all unusual. Though it sounds like your getting it checked out wouldn’t be a bad idea, if the memory thing persists. I really hope it’s nothing to be concerned over.
I covet that black & white dress
Yikes, scary stuff. She’s got a great attitude though, and I wish her well.
i have huge memory loss… scared for my life rn tbh… i’m glad for her sake it’s benign… btw she’s always had a weird body sorry but it’s true
I’m so sorry to hear that! =( Is it something that you’re going to get checked out? (I know that’s really scary to convince yourself to do, not wanting to get bad news). But it really is too important not to. I really hope it’s nothing serious.
I suspect this is a meningioma, which is an extension of the “protective coating” of the brain into a mass that can continue to grow in the cranial cavity.
It is non-cancerous, but that does not mean it is benign in the lay person’s sense of the word (i.e. harmless). There’s only so much space in the cranium, and the brain needs every bit of it.
I have not seen news more specific re: the type of benign tumor, so I’m guessing from here. Obviously, Cheryl caught this early, so she is lucky. Still, she is not completely out of the woods. The MDs will probably evaluate her (via MRI) periodically to see if the tumor stays put or grows.
If it is a meningioma, the good news is they are slow growing and sometimes even cease growth. The other good news is that carefully targeted radiation can zap a small meningioma if it starts to grow in a troublesome way.
I had brain surgery for a meningioma exactly four weeks ago. I am 45. I was wrapping up grad school, my brain was going to s–t as well, I had dizziness and headaches-and fatigue-lots of it. Occasionally, I would have double vision in front of my MacBook, my constant companion. The scary times were when my vision would occasionally blur when driving. I planned to take care of it after I was done with my Masters.
Finished the damn degree and found out a week later from an ophthalmologist that I had a lazy eye, ominous in a middle aged person. She was very alarmed and sent me to my primary, who ordered an MRI. My MRI also showed a “benign” tumor, but one that was wrapped around the cranial nerve that controls the muscles around my R eye (Cranial nerve VI) and pressing up against my brain stem (where control for breathing, body temperature, and heart rate are located).
I had insurance for two quarters post grad, so I had surgery immediately as advised by the neurosurgeon. I was in the OR-not pre or post op-for 7 hours. Brain surgery is NOT overrated-it is scary as hell. I will likely have the “Gamma knife” (the targeted radiation I mentioned) in 6 to 12 months to remove any tumor that remained after this challenging, high tech (“stereotactic”) surgery.
Lesson-especially after you hit 40 (“Life begins at 40” my a–) don’t ignore your body. I had pronounced symptoms, but I just tucked my chin and kept on plugging. Another year and the (cranial) nerve controlling my facial muscles could have been involved. Or my optic nerve. Or the nerve that controls swallowing. I thank God for that astute ophthalmologist, and for the skill and precision of my surgeons. I will likely be back to almost normal within a year-here’s hoping.