Husband and manager to Canadian singing superstar Celine Dion, Rene Angelil, was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2013.
Upon learning of her husband’s ailment, Dion packed up her residency from the Ceasar’s Palace’s Coloseum and announced she was postponing her shows indefinitely to take care of Angelil.
“I went back in my dressing room and I saw him looking pretty devastated and in shock, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?'” Celine told Good Morning America on Wednesday. “He sat down and said, ‘The doctor just called me and I have cancer again.'”
Celine Dion announces she will return to Vegas after taking time off to care for her husband http://t.co/Li3OcVBA6x pic.twitter.com/zCbkhLPw7H
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 26, 2015
During the emotional interview, Dion shared the severity of her husband’s health condition.
“Rene could not talk and he could not swallow. The surgery was major,” Dion said of Angelil’s battle with throat cancer.
“He can’t eat. He’s got a feeding tube. I have to feed him three times a day. I do this myself.”
73-year-old Angelil was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999 and underwent two operations and six weeks of radiation. Dion then took two years off her singing career to take care of her husband.
“I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children. I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support,” Dion said in a statement to ET in August 2014.
Dion was encouraged by Angélil to re-launch her residency at The Colosseum, the same way he believed in her talent 35 years ago. Dion will again take the stage starting Aug. 27.
“I am scared of losing him, because it’s bad,” Dion told ET. “But I have to show myself, my husband and my kids that I’m strong and we’re okay.”
“I had to leave him behind because he wanted me to start the shows again,” said Dion, “I’m doing it for him. I’m doing it for my fans. I’m doing it for me,” Dion said.