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Reality TV alum Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson confirms sister Chickadee has cancer

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson attends a TV premiere
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson says ‘you never truly know what somebody is going through at home’ amid sister’s cancer diagnosis.
(Santiago Felipe / WireImage)
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“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and “Toddlers & Tiaras” alum Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson has confirmed that her elder sister has a rare cancer.

“& 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,” the 17-year-old wrote Thursday in an Instagram Story.

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“yes, I’m very famous but normal s— happens to me and my family & y’all need to realize that asap,” she added.

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Thompson’s post included a screenshot and link to a TMZ report that her sister Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She did not elaborate on the report beyond the caption, and representatives for Cardwell did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

The cast of "Here Comes Honey Boo" sits at a long table in a bookstore
Anna “Chickadee” Shannon, second from right with her family, has Stage 4 cancer, her little sister confirmed.
(Kris Connor / Getty Images)

Cardwell is Thompson’s half-sister and the eldest daughter of their mother, June Shannon, the famous stage mom known as “Mama June” who co-starred with her children in several TLC reality series.

Her 28-year-old daughter reportedly complained of stomach aches before being diagnosed in January with Stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, which was discovered in her liver, kidney and lung following a series of tests. TMZ reported that Cardwell underwent her first round of chemotherapy last month and her family is “very hopeful” that she’ll pull through.

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Cardwell shares two children, 10-year-old Kaitlyn and 7-year-old Kylee, with ex-husband Michael Cardwell.

Thompson and her reality TV family, who have courted several controversies over the years, saw their marquee series “Here Comes Honey Boo” canceled in 2014 amid a scandal in which Shannon reportedly dated a convicted child molester, who allegedly molested one of her daughters. Both Thompson and Shannon have since appeared on reality competition series, including “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Masked Singer.”

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