Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell, the eldest daughter of reality TV star "Mama June" Shannon, died Saturday night at age 29 after battling cancer since the beginning of the year. Cardwell, born when Shannon was just 15, was the older sister to Shannon's three other daughters, the youngest of whom is Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Shannon, now 18, People reports. Alana Shannon and her mother first rose to fame on the child pageant reality series Toddlers & Tiaras, and the older sisters of "Honey Boo Boo," including Cardwell, had appeared on that show as well as several spin-offs involving the family. It was Cardwell who became estranged from her mother when June Shannon reunited with a man Cardwell said molested her when she was a child.
Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in January, and doctors found it had spread to her lung, liver, and kidney, TMZ reports. Her family had previously said the diagnosis was terminal. "With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us," the family posted on June Shannon's Instagram account. "She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM. She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months she passed away with her family around her like she [wanted]." She is survived by her husband, Eldridge, and two daughters: Kaitlyn, born in 2012, and Kylee, born in 2015. (More Here Comes Honey Boo Boo stories.)