Videos by American Songwriter
Former vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of Those Darlins (who announced an indefinite hiatus at the end of last year) Jessi “Zazu” Wariner announced earlier this week that she has been battling cervical cancer for the better part of this year.
In a video she shared online, Wariner explains that a week after wrapping Those Darlins’ final tour, she was hospitalized and diagnosed with stage II cervical cancer. She’s since received various rounds of treatment, but found out in November that the cancer had spread to her lymphatic system.
“Unfortunately, this November, I found out that the cancer had already metastasized and spread through my lymphatic system, probably before I was first diagnosed,” she wrote in a statement shared with the video. “This is typically what they would call a ‘no cure scenario,’ but I refuse to believe that to be the case. I feel healthy, happy, hopeful, determined, positive, and full of sparks and nails. In a sense: there’s a tumor growing on my body, I don’t know what lays in store, but I ain’t afraid anymore. Yes, I guess I am a mystic mind after all.”
She also shared that she was about to undergo 3 – 6 more months of chemotherapy, and had a friend shave her hair off on camera as the Darlins’ “Ain’t Afraid” played. The lyrics of that song, written in 2013 well before Wariner was diagnosed, include the lines “there’s a tumor growing on my body/ I don’t know what lays in store/ but I ain’t afraid anymore.”
To raise funds to cover medical bills, Wariner is selling “Ain’t Afraid” t-shirts, which you can purchase here. She also established a YouCaring page to collect donations. Click here to donate.
Watch her video in full below.
