Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Charles Kelley and More: The Country Stars Battling Health Issues – Details

Behind the sold-out shows, chart-topping hits, and decades-long careers, several country favorites have faced medical battles that quietly reshaped everything from their voices and mobility to their lives at home. For some, the road back has taken years — while others are only now revealing just how much they have been going through.

Some of country music's most familiar voices have been navigating life-changing diagnoses, difficult treatments, and long recoveries — sometimes while continuing to perform for their fans.

But amid a year already marked by troubling health news across the genre, one star has now opened up about a diagnosis that doctors uncovered only after a seemingly unrelated series of injuries raised questions.

Alan Jackson Has a Degenerative Nerve Condition

Alan Jackson, 67, has been open about living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a degenerative nerve condition that affects his balance. According to CBS News, Jackson had publicly revealed the condition five years earlier, explaining that he had actually been diagnosed roughly a decade before making it public.

The country music giant said the condition is genetic and that, over time, its impact on his ability to walk and perform had become increasingly noticeable. For a performer whose career has been built around standing onstage in front of enormous audiences, the physical effects naturally created a very different reality from the one fans had watched for decades.

Shania Twain Feared She Would Never Sing Again

For Shania Twain, 61, the health battle threatened something even more fundamental to her career — her voice. The superstar revealed that a tick bite she suffered while horseback riding in 2003 led to Lyme disease, according to ABC News' July 2022 report on her health ordeal. Twain said the illness altered her voice so dramatically that she feared she had lost her ability to sing for good.

"My voice was never the same again," she said in the documentary "Not Just a Girl." "I thought I'd lost my voice forever. I thought that was it, [and] I would never, ever sing again." The singer was 56 when she discussed the ordeal in 2022, nearly two decades after the tick bite that began it all.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease is a tick-borne infectious ailment that can affect joints, the nervous system, and the heart if left untreated.

Randy Travis Had to Learn to Walk Again

Randy Travis' health challenges have involved a lengthy recovery following his 2013 stroke. As detailed in Today's look at Travis' health journey, the singer was eventually transferred to a physical therapy facility after his stroke, where he began the difficult process of rebuilding basic abilities.

Travis, 67, developed aphasia, a disorder affecting communication, as a result of his health problems. As of an April 2026 update, he continued to have difficulty speaking and relied on his wife for assistance communicating during interviews.

His recovery also required him to learn how to walk again, and he was reported to primarily use a wheelchair. It's a stark reminder of just how dramatically a medical emergency can alter everyday life — even years after the initial event.

Willie Nelson Has Faced Emphysema and COVID-19

Willie Nelson, 93, has also dealt with significant health challenges while remaining one of country music's enduring figures. A December 2025 report from Parade said Nelson suffers from emphysema and had also struggled to survive COVID-19.

The outlet also reported that he had more recently discussed what it called his biggest "secret" or personal hack for keeping himself going despite the health problems and concern surrounding him: singing. Speaking to The New Yorker that same year, Nelson revealed, "Singing for an hour is good for you." His daughter, Amy, agreed, adding, "I think it's literally keeping him alive."

His history is another example of a country legend confronting serious medical issues while his fans continue to closely follow his well-being.

Sheryl Crow Turned a Cancer Diagnosis Into Advocacy

Sheryl Crow's health scare goes back to 2006, when what was supposed to be a routine annual mammogram produced a result she never expected.

Crow was 44 when she learned she had breast cancer, according to the Brem Foundation's account of her diagnosis and subsequent advocacy.

Her cancer was early-stage and non-invasive, and she underwent a lumpectomy followed by radiation. The experience ultimately helped turn Crow, now 64, into an advocate for early detection.

She has spoken about how discussing breast cancer can reduce the fear surrounding screening, while also acknowledging the practical barriers that can stop women from getting mammograms. "And until we find a cure, early detection is our cure," Crow said.

Richard Sterban Revealed His Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis

For Richard Sterban of The Oak Ridge Boys, fans received a serious update in September 2025 after he had already spent months away from the road. Sterban, 83, who has been a member of the group since 1972, revealed in an official health update that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that March.

"In March of this year, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer," Sterban said. "But I am under the care of the best cancer doctors in the country and, with the help of the Good Lord above, I believe I will be able to get through this."

He thanked fans for their concern and asked them to continue praying for him. Sterban also offered some encouraging news, saying, "Most days I'm feeling very good, and I hope to be back out on the road in several months."

At the time of the update, he had been off the road recuperating since mid-May. Sterban — whose bass notes are a major part of The Oak Ridge Boys' double-platinum hit "Elvira" — had last appeared with the group at the Academy of Country Music Awards that May.

Aaron McCune and Tim Duncan had been filling in for him during the group's tour, while The Oak Ridge Boys continued scheduling performances into 2026.

Nat Myers Has Been Sharing His Cancer Treatment with Fans

Another artist letting fans see an unusually vulnerable side of treatment is Nat Myers, 35. On September 8, 2026, Myers posted an Instagram video filmed while he was receiving treatment, playing his guitar and singing his song "2nd Daddy" from a hospital room.

Myers explained that bringing his guitar to treatment isn't always something he feels up to doing because of how chemotherapy affects him. "I don't always bring my guitar to treatment, partially cuz I just want to sleep through the askewness chemo puts on you," he wrote. But "2nd Daddy" was different.

Myers said he "couldn't stop, and still can't stop playing it," and credited the response from listeners with making an extremely difficult stretch a little easier. "Made a hard day more sustainable, made some hard months a little easier," he wrote. "I gotta lotta friends among strangers, and you can count me family." The timing of the hospital performance carried extra weight because Myers said it came on the eve of another round of scans.

"Wish me luck," he wrote. He also told fans that after releasing the hospital version, he planned to work toward putting out a proper record. "Thank you for the support, and prayers, I got plenty of em for now — now, gimme your blues," Myers added. "I sure ain't hesitating to give you mine."

Cancer Has Become an Especially Painful Theme in Country Music

Myers' treatment has unfolded amid what has become a particularly difficult stretch of cancer news in the country and blues communities. A September 2026 report from SILive noted that 35-year-old Myers had received unwelcome news from his latest scans and had been forced to step away from performing to focus on treatment.

That included canceling an October appearance on Austin City Limits, which he had previously described as a bucket-list show. The report also said Myers was one of at least four country music stars who were battling or had recently battled cancer, with three of those artists aged 40 or younger.

It also came during an especially painful period for the genre, which had already lost Dolly Parton after a brief battle with cancer, Don Adams earlier in 2026, and The Mavericks Frontman Raul Malo following his own cancer fight in late 2025.

And then, amid Myers' latest updates, another major country singer revealed that he too had received a cancer diagnosis.

Charles Kelley Reveals Doctors Found Blood Cancer After Random Rib Fractures

On September 29, 2026, Lady A's Charles Kelley, 45, and his wife, Cassie, sat side by side and shared what they simply captioned "A little health update." But the news inside the joint Instagram video was far more serious than that understated caption suggested. Kelley revealed that he had recently experienced a couple of seemingly random rib fractures.

Those injuries prompted his doctor to investigate further. "I had this couple random rib fractures that happened which sparked my doctor into having me do several different blood tests [sic]," Kelley explained. Then came the test result that changed everything.

"One of the last blood tests we did, they found a blood cancer in there called multiple myeloma," he said. Kelley described the cancer as rare but quickly emphasized that, despite the diagnosis, he currently feels healthy and remains hopeful about treatment. "I'm young, I feel healthy," he said.

He also said the treatments available have advanced considerably in recent years and that the outlook for people facing the disease has changed significantly from what it once was. "The treatments, I will say, have just come so far even in the past five years," Kelley said, adding that even life expectancy "far exceeds what it used to be." That progress is one reason he said he feels optimistic. "I feel really hopeful. I really do," he assured fans.

Kelley said he and Cassie have a friend who is already going through the same illness and is roughly two months ahead of him in the process. Watching her share pieces of her own experience helped Kelley as he absorbed his diagnosis. That example also influenced his decision to speak publicly rather than quietly disappear from view.

He compared it to the openness he has previously shown about another deeply personal health struggle: his sobriety. "Getting this stuff off your chest is so freeing, and it takes the power away from it a little bit," Kelley said. He told fans that he and his family wanted them to know what was happening, but his message remained overwhelmingly hopeful. "We're going to get through it," he declared.

Kelley added that sobriety taught him to approach life "one day at a time" and accept that some things are outside his control. "That's the way we're looking at it," he explained. For now, Kelley said he feels great and hopes to remain active professionally.

Lady A has a new record coming, he shared, along with Christmas shows already on the horizon. Kelley explained that he expects the first six months of treatment not to be overly invasive and currently believes he will still be able to work. "I think physically I will feel like myself," he stated, while acknowledging that there will probably be difficult days along the way.

Still, stepping onto a stage after learning the diagnosis only reinforced how much performing means to him. Kelley recalled going out the previous weekend after already knowing the news and thinking, "This is where I belong." He said he needs to remain happy and continue doing what he loves while also soaking up as much time as possible with his family.

"I'm hopeful, I really am," Kelley emphasized. He promised to share more of the journey when it feels appropriate and described the diagnosis as simply "another hurdle." "I'm confident that we're going to get through it," he added. Cassie, sitting alongside him, said the family was grateful to have a strong medical team and access to excellent doctors in Nashville. "We got this," she said.

His 'One Day at a Time' Approach Has Deep Roots

Kelley's reference to sobriety wasn't incidental. His cancer update comes several years after another health crisis forced him to make enormous changes in his personal life, marriage, and career. Lady A postponed its tour in August 2022 so Kelley could seek treatment for alcohol abuse, according to his extensive 2023 interview with CBS News about his recovery.

Kelley — who had won seven Grammys with Lady A by that point — acknowledged that he had known for some time that alcohol was becoming a problem. "I remember joking, you know, with buddies," Kelley recalled. "I was like, 'Yeah, I'm definitely a functioning alcoholic.' And I said, 'I know I'm gonna have to stop at some point, but that's not today.'"

Looking back, he said even making that joke showed that he knew something was wrong. Bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood had noticed too. Kelley revealed they had initially raised concerns with him years earlier after shows where they felt he had consumed too much alcohol.

At the time, he responded defensively, questioning whether his drinking was affecting his work ethic or performances. He later recognized that alcohol had influenced emotional and verbal outbursts, although he said those incidents did not become physical altercations.

What His Son Noticed 'Crushed' Him

Some of the most difficult feedback came from much closer to home. Kelley said Cassie told him about comments their then-seven-year-old son, Ward, had made, including observations that his father was "talking a little funny" or that his parents seemed to argue frequently.

Realizing his child had noticed his drinking devastated Kelley. He said it "crushed" him because his son is the most important thing in his life. Kelley had tried quitting alcohol previously, but rehab was a step he had avoided because he was frightened by what he thought going to rehab meant.

He eventually realized his picture of alcoholism had been too narrow. "What I've learned is, there's [sic] degrees of alcoholics," Kelley said. He wanted others to understand that someone did not have to fit the most extreme stereotypes of alcohol dependency for drinking to be harming their life.

A Trip to Greece Became His Turning Point

The crisis eventually reached its breaking point during a trip Kelley and Cassie took to Greece. After the couple argued, Kelley turned off his phone and disappeared for the night while drinking with strangers. When he returned the following morning, Cassie told him he needed help and that she intended to meet with a divorce attorney.

For Kelley, it was the moment when the stakes became impossible to ignore. He flew directly to treatment and later credited his wife with pushing him to get help before he lost his family.

"It just makes me feel so grateful at how close I came to losin' it all," he said. What troubled him most afterward was realizing just how much his drinking had affected Cassie, his bandmates, and the people closest to him. "And that, I can't really say I'm sorry enough," Kelley said. "And it's just gonna take time to rebuild that."

Treatment Became a Family Effort

Kelley ultimately spent a month in rehab. His recovery included group meetings with other people dealing with alcohol problems, a case manager, and a device he would blow into every morning and every night. He said those accountability measures weren't only for him. They also allowed Cassie, his bandmates, and the other people around him to see that he was actively checking his alcohol use and gradually rebuilding trust.

Cassie said the process forced her to do difficult work as well. At first, she struggled with the idea that Kelley's drinking problem could create so much emotional labor for her, too. She later came to see alcoholism as something that affects an entire family system and realized she could either address her own trauma or continue carrying it.

Kelley and Lady A also incorporated therapy into the group's recovery process. By the time CBS spoke with him in 2023, Lady A had returned to touring, launching a tour at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Kelley was also performing his song "As Far As You Could," which he described as his goodbye letter to alcohol.

At that point, he said he was sober, healthy, and deeply grateful for the support he had received. "I feel a lot of love," Kelley said. Now, more than three years later, that same recovery language has resurfaced under circumstances nobody around him wanted.

Faced with a blood cancer diagnosis, Kelley is again leaning on one day at a time, his family, his medical team, his work, and the community he built by talking openly about the hardest parts of his life.