Howie Mandel and his daughter, Jackelyn Schultz, revealed that her nine-year-old son, Axel, has been privately battling leukemia after revealing his diagnosis publicly for the first time during an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger on Wednesday, September 17. The AGT judge, 69, admitted Axel's cancer diagnosis was especially difficult because it became "really specific" since he has an autoimmune condition, making the treatment even more complex. An emotional Jackelyn described her son's diagnosis as the lowest point of her life.
The 39-year-old recalled the criticism she and her dad faced when she wore a mask during recordings of their podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff. However, she kept her reasons to herself despite people assuming it was about politics, when in reality, Jackelyn wore a mask if a guest had a cold to keep both her and Axel healthy amid his cancer treatment. "I got such hate in vitriol they thought it was because I didn't agree with their politics or whatever," she explained.
"And I was just, 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.'" Despite the difficulty the family has gone through, Howie emotionally revealed that Axel is now in remission after he had "a bone marrow transplant from his sister."
Jackelyn said that she often tries to "not think" of Axel's cancer battle and "move on," adding: "And we're very fortunate because he is doing really really well right now. But that was definitely the lowest point in my whole entire life." Howie comforted his tearful daughter and reflected on how "tough" it was to watch her and Axel suffer.
"You go home and look at your baby and imagine somebody telling you that something horrible is wrong," he explained. "That's really, really tough." Despite Axel being in remission and doing better, his health is "still a struggle," as Howie revealed that his grandson "doesn't have an immune system yet, so he can't go to school." He added: "We're just trying to build up his immune system."
Admitting there is much more to Axel's recovery than just beating the cancer, Jackelyn said: "I don't think people realize that there's so much that goes into treatment that it's not just the cancer alone, but it's also the treatment afterwards and the follow-up. And it's a really, really, really long, hard road.
"We are really fortunate to be where we are right now, and for him to be happy and he's doing well," she added. "But we're still dealing with like the bumps and the hurdles that go along with the diagnosis and the transplant."
Jackelyn shares Axel and daughter Abbey, 11, with her husband Alex Shultz. Alongside Jackelyn, Howie is a dad to son, Alex, 33, and daughter Riley, 31. He became a grandfather of three in March 2024 when Riley welcomed a baby girl named Noa.