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Howie Mandel has spoken publicly for the first time about his grandson Axel's cancer journey, sharing how the nine-year-old is now in remission after being diagnosed with leukemia.
The America's Got Talent judge, 69, appeared alongside his daughter, Jackelyn Shultz, on the Sept. 17 episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, where they opened up about the emotional experience. "The coping, it became really specific, cause his issue is an autoimmune issue. It's leukemia," Mandel explained. "In fact, it's the first time we've ever talked about it on camera."
Jackelyn revealed that Axel's health battle began during a family trip to Hawaii, when symptoms they believed to be the flu turned out to be something far more serious. Within 24 hours, Axel began chemotherapy and later required a bone marrow transplant from his older sister, Abbey, 11. Mandel confirmed, "He had to have a bone marrow transplant from his sister," while Jackelyn grew tearful recalling the ordeal.
The family also reflected on the challenges of keeping Axel safe throughout his treatment, particularly during the pandemic. As co-hosts of the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Jackelyn wore a mask whenever guests were sick, which drew online criticism. "I got such hate and vitriol," she recalled. "They thought it was because I didn't agree with their politics. In my mind, I'm like, 'They have no idea what I'm going through right now. They have no idea I was trying to be able to go visit my son in the hospital.'"
Despite Axel's remission, Mandel emphasized that the journey is ongoing. "Three, four years, and it's still a struggle. He doesn't have an immune system yet so he can't go to school. He's doing well, his leukaemia is in remission, we're just trying to build up his immune system again." Jackelyn echoed this, noting, "There's so much that goes into treatment that it's not just the cancer alone, but also the treatment afterwards and the follow-up. It's a really, really, really long, hard road."
For Jackelyn, Axel's illness marked the "lowest point in my whole entire life," but she expressed gratitude that her son is "doing really really well right now." Mandel added that sharing their story may help others feel less isolated: "Many people are suffering with a family member or an ill child, and I know it is good for people to hear that they are not alone."
Axel is one of Mandel's four grandchildren. Alongside Abbey and Axel, Jackelyn shares her children with husband Alex Shultz, while Mandel's daughter Riley welcomed a daughter, Noa, in 2024.
