Country star Jillian Cardarelli reveals devastating breast cancer diagnosis at age 33

Country star Jillian Cardarelli has revealed her devastating breast cancer diagnosis at age 33. 

In an interview with People, Cardarelli revealed she learned she had stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma on May 21.

Health and fitness-oriented, Cardarelli feels 'fear and sadness' over the diagnosis, but is not completely shocked considering her mother also battled colon cancer for over 10 years. 

'I feel fear and sadness,' she told the publication. 'I'm like, why did this happen? I do not fit the profile of somebody that should get cancer at 33 years old. 

'So yes, there's a little bit of anger there. But I'm not angry at God. I'm leaning on Him more than ever as opposed to being angry at Him. But yes, I'm angry at the situation.'

Fortunately doctors have given her a hopeful prognosis: 'They are confident this can be eradicated and I will hopefully live a very long, normal and healthy and happy life.' 

'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.' 

Cardarelli was unable to dismiss the sense that something was off shortly before her diagnosis. 

'I've had areas in my breasts that have been diagnosed with dense fibrous tissue since I was 25 years old that I've been getting looked at by ultrasound a couple of times, but nothing was ever seen,' she told the publication. 

'But then, I felt something a little different to me. I knew my body. I was a little more tired.'

The ordinarily energetic Cardarelli struggled to get through a photo shoot requiring five outfit changes without feeling the urge to take a nap. 

A lump in her breast was also discovered during this time frame.  

'It was in an area of very dense tissue and I remember thinking, "Maybe I'm in my head a little bit,"' she recalled.  '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.'

She is now preparing to undergo treatment by the same oncologist her mother has been seeing.

'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. It's like we get one result and then we're waiting for another result. It's going to be a journey. We're pretty sure surgery is first and then we have to decide a treatment plan after that.' 

Cardarelli's husband, sports agent Brian Parker, has been supporting her throughout the ordeal.

'He's been my rock through this whole thing,' she said. 

Cardarelli is the voice behind the tracks Over You Hangover, The Boys, Worth The Whiskey, and I'll Get Over You with Vince Gill.

Rolling Stone ranked her on their '10 New Country Artists You Need To Know' list in 2017, where her vocals were compared to 'Faith Hill’s voice singing a Top 20 Billboard country hit from last week.'

'Shania Twain’s Come On Over was my anthem album,' she said, according to the publication. 'I burned that CD out in my boom box as a child. Shania, who really broke a lot of barriers with what she wore and how she sounded, opened the door for women to push the envelope. 

'You can look back on that like, if she can do it, there’s surely someone else to break those walls.'

Cardarelli was one of the musicians performing at President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump's National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in both 2020 and 2025.