Howie Mandel Opens Up About Grandson, 9, Being in Remission From Leukemia: ‘It’s Still a Struggle’

An emotional Howie Mandel recently revealed on an episode of the In Depth With Graham Bensinger podcast that his 9-year-old grandson, Axel, has been battling leukemia for the past four years.

Axel, the son of the 69-year-old comedian’s daughter Jackelyn Shultz, was diagnosed with the blood cancer after a trip to Hawaii, and began undergoing chemotherapy within 24 hours.

The brave boy also had a bone marrow transplant thanks to a donation from his older sister, Abbey, 11. He’s currently in remission, Howie reports.

But Axel is still struggling with the aftermath of the treatment. “Three, four years, and it’s still a struggle,” the America’s Got Talent judge explains. “He doesn’t have an immune system, so he can’t go to school. He’s doing well. His leukemia is in remission. We’re just trying to build up his immune system.”

The family decided to keep Axel’s health struggles private until now, which led to some misunderstandings when Jackelyn would wear a mask in public to protect her son’s compromised immune system.

“Sometimes somebody would come in to do [the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast], and they’d have a cold and [Jackelyn] would be wearing a mask,” the Deal or No Deal alum recalls.

Jackelyn says when viewers saw her wearing a mask, “[I’d get] such hate and vitriol. [People] thought it was because I didn’t agree with their politics or whatever. In my mind, I’m like, ‘They have no idea what I’m going through right now. They have no idea that I’m just trying to be able to go visit my son in the hospital.’ I don’t need the negativity in my life, especially when it’s surrounding that issue.”