The husband of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell, who died from a rare form of cancer, has said she “never wanted to know” how much time she had left.
Cardwell died on December 9 at the age of 29, after “one hell of a fight” against stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, her mother June Shannon (known as Mama June) announced.
Speaking to People, Cardwell’s husband Eldridge Toney said she had tried to stay strong rather than face the prospect of not surviving her illness.
Stream the world’s best reality, entertainment and true crime shows for free on 7Bravo on 7plus >>
“She was super strong for her family,” he said.
“She was in so much pain all the time, and we knew what the stage 4 diagnosis meant, but we agreed not to talk to the doctor about an exact time frame.
“We agreed we did not want to be told she has six months or something like that.
“But there was a realistic factor.
“We knew time was limited, but we agreed and asked the doctor to not give us a time.
“We never wanted to know.”
Toney married Cardwell in March after she had received her cancer diagnosis, and revealed that he was “holding her hand when she took her final breath”.
Mama June took to Instagram to announce her daughter was gone.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us,” she wrote, sharing a family photograph.
“She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11.12pm.
“We love y’all and continued prayers and thoughts for our family doing (sic) this difficult time.”
Family and friends gathered on December 13 for Cardwell’s funeral at the Williams-White Columns Funeral Home in Georgia.
Shock diagnosis
The reality TV star first received her adrenal carcinoma diagnosis after complaining of stomach aches.
Adrenal carcinoma is a rare form of cancer which begins in one or both of the small, triangular glands, called adrenal glands, which sit just above the kidneys.
The cancer was found in her liver, kidney and lung, People reported at the time.
Her youngest sister, famously known as Honey Boo Boo, opened up on her sister’s terminal diagnosis.
“This is what I mean when I say you never truly know what somebody is going through at home,” her 17-year-old sister said in an Instagram story in January 2023.
“No matter how famous they are.
“Yes, I’m very famous, but normal s*** happens to me and my family and y’all need to realise that ASAP,” she added, sharing a screenshot of an article from TMZ, which first reported the news of Cardwell’s cancer.
Cardwell rose to fame alongside Honey Boo Boo in the hit US show Toddlers & Tiaras (2009) and its follow-up Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (2012).
The show traced the personal lives of the families of children involved in beauty pageants.
Toddlers & Tiaras frequently courted controversy for the way in which parents dressed their children up to look like adults.
For more engaging entertainment content, visit 7Life on Facebook.
