Country Star Receives Heartbreaking Diagnosis
“I do not fit the profile of somebody that should get cancer at 33 years old.”
Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
Country star Jillian Cardarelli has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I feel fear and sadness. I’m like, why did this happen? I do not fit the profile of somebody that should get cancer at 33 years old,” Cardarelli told People in an article published Wednesday.
"My hope is that women hear my story and understand the importance of knowing their bodies, trusting their instincts and advocating for themselves," she told People.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
The “Over You Hangover” singer was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma on May 21, and she has been reeling ever since.
“I don’t even know what day it is anymore. I think it’s only been two or three weeks since the diagnosis,” Cardarelli said.
Cardarelli, 33, was named by Rolling Stone in August 2017 on their “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know” list, which described her as sounding like “Faith Hill’s voice singing a Top 20 Billboard country hit from last week.”
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She performed at President Donald J. Trump’s National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony during both of his terms in office, in 2020 and 2025.
Jillian Cardarelli performs at the National Christmas Tree Lighting on December 4, 2025, at the White House and President’s Park.
National Park Service
The good news for Cardarelli is that doctors discovered the cancer before it could progress to a more dangerous stage.
“They are confident this can be eradicated and I will hopefully live a very long, normal and healthy and happy life,” she said.
Continuing, “I’m just trying to take things truly one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time, and somehow stay in the moment as I absorb all this life flipping on its head within the last few weeks.”
She realized she might be sick when she noticed something a little off with her body.
“I knew my body. I was a little more tired,” she said, adding that she found it difficult to get through a photoshoot without taking a nap.
After finding a lump in her breast, she knew it was more serious than a bout of exhaustion.
Cardarelli says her husband Brian Parker has been by her side through everything.
Mychal Watts/Getty Images
“It was in an area of very dense tissue and I remember thinking, ‘Maybe I’m in my head a little bit.’ But something in my gut was like, ‘This feels a little bit different to me.’ That’s when I went and I got checked out and I found out that it was a malignant tumor.”
Cardarelli’s family has a history of cancer, and she is receiving care from the same oncologist who treated her mother.
“The fact that my mother, who has had stage 4 cancer for the last 12 years, has to now help her daughter navigate this, is very unfair,” Cardarelli said.
As for next steps, she’s still figuring things out.
“I’m in the process of waiting for some tests to come back for more information so we can gather the full treatment plan,” she said. “And what I’m learning is that plan is ever-changing.”
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