R&B vocalist Nivea has publicly disclosed that she is battling leukemia, a form of blood cancer, while expressing gratitude and optimism about her treatment progress.
The 44-year-old singer made the announcement during an appearance on the Tuesday, July 22, episode of Cadillac Chronicles, where she spoke candidly about her diagnosis and ongoing medical care.
"I was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year," Nivea told Cadillac Chronicles. "I am so grateful to God. I am going through treatment."
The artist confirmed that her treatment regimen commenced several months ago. Leukemia affects the body's blood-forming tissues and occurs when bone marrow generates excessive white blood cells, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition can manifest through various symptoms including bone and joint pain, frequent infections, unexplained weight loss, recurring nosebleeds, and heightened bleeding or bruising.
Despite confronting this serious health challenge, Nivea conveyed a positive mindset rooted in her spiritual beliefs during her conversation with host Brian Freeman.
"Everything is going great so far and I expect it to continue," she said. "Amen. Amen. Amen! I'm very grateful for life. It's so cliche to say, 'You don't know the time nor the hour,' but it's true. It just helped me put a lot of things into perspective."
The musician emphasized her commitment to living with appreciation, stating, "I live in gratitude religiously. I'm just grateful for everything."
Remarkably, Nivea has not allowed her diagnosis to halt her personal ambitions. She disclosed to Freeman that she is currently pursuing an audio engineering degree while continuing to focus on her music career.
"I'm doing things I want to do," she declared. "I'm definitely back into my music. I'm going to school for audio engineering."
She elaborated on her educational pursuits and overall approach to life during treatment: "I've always wanted to learn how to engineer, how to mix and engineer, in particular. In general, I'm just doing all the things, honey! I'm loving all my children and just being grateful. I'm taking every opportunity that comes my way!"
Nivea is the mother of four children. She shares daughter Navy Talia Nash, 21, and twins Christian and London Nash, 20, with producer The-Dream. The former spouses were married from 2004 to 2008. Following that relationship, she reunited with ex-boyfriend Lil Wayne and welcomed son Neal Carter in November 2009. Though Lil Wayne, 43, and Nivea, who is 44, separated in 2010, they later collaborated on the 2018 duet "Dope New Gospel."
The artist achieved mainstream recognition with her 2003 breakthrough single "Don't Mess with My Man," which featured brothers Brian and Brandon Casey from R&B group Jagged Edge. The track earned a Best R&B Performance Award nomination at the 2003 Grammys and climbed to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
She subsequently released additional singles including "Laundromat" and "Okay" in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Her most recent album, Mirrors, was released in 2019.
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Ava Hart
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