'It's Gotten Worse': Mama June and Family Going on 'One Last Trip' With Anna Amid Stage 4 Cancer Battle
Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird announced their family is getting ready to go on their final vacation with sister Anna "Chicadee" Cardwell as she battles stage 4 cancer.
The 29-year-old was diagnosed with adrenal carcinoma that was present in her kidney, liver and one of her lungs in January and has been undergoing chemotherapy to slow the progression of the aggressive disease since then.
"We are going on a 'last family trip' with my sister Anna on Thursday," Lauryn wrote to her followers on her and younger sister Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson's boutique page on Facebook. "So we will be live Tuesday and Wednesday night. All packages from the live sale will go out Thursday morning before I’m out of town."
When fans in the comments section questioned what she meant by a "last" trip, the 23-year-old admitted that her older sister wasn't doing well.
"Sadly, it’s gotten worse over the last couple of months, and her wish is to go to Gatlinburg with all of us," she explained. "So we are making that happen & making the best out of this."
As OK! previously reported, Mama June Shannon revealed Anna's cancer was "terminal" and she unfortunately wouldn't ever be going "into remission" several months after her diagnosis.
- Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Efird Admits Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's Cancer Battle 'Hit Harder Than We Ever Imagined' in 'Family Crisis' Sneak Peek
- Mama June Shannon Says 'We Don't Know What the End Game' Is With Daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's 'Rare & Aggressive' Cancer
- Mama June's Daughter Chickadee Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer, Family Remains 'Very Hopeful': Source
"We've all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time 'cause you never know," the mom-of-4 noted, adding that Anna was "actually doing pretty good" and handling the situation as best as could be expected.
Lauryn agreed, sharing her sister was still able to "go to the grocery store" and "take the kids to and from places" at that point, referring to Anna's daughters Kaitlyn and Kylee.
"The 10-year-old is aware, I don't think she fully understands," Lauryn, who has four kids of her own with husband Josh Efird, said of her niece at the time.
"I think she understands that Mommy is sick and Mommy might not be here for a while," she continued. "She's 10, but she's a lot more mature than that because she's been raised around older people."
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Earlier this year, Mama June opened up on the emotional toll the diagnosis has taken on Anna and their whole family, sharing the 29-year-old was "just going through the emotions like anyone would be [with] cancer."
"I know as her mother, if I’m struggling some days, I know she has to be really struggling some days," she said. "You know, we have her good and our bad days."