Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the iconic Jackson family, is fighting terminal cancer, and his condition is rapidly deteriorating, according to reports.
According to TMZ, the 89-year-old has been hospitalized with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. His family had reportedly been trying to visit him in Las Vegas as he deals with the end stages of the disease, but had trouble doing so. The family was granted access Tuesday night after pleas to Joe’s manager, Charles Coupet, the Daily Mail reports.
Jermaine Jackson told the Daily Mail that a number of family members have been trying to get information about Joe’s condition.
“No one knew what was going on—we shouldn’t have to beg, plead and argue to see our own father, especially at a time like this,” he said. “We have been hurting. We were not being told where he was and couldn’t get the full picture. Even from the doctor. My mother was worried sick.
“He’s very very frail; he doesn’t have long. The family needs to be by his bedside—that’s our only intention in his final days,” Jermaine added.
The Daily Mail reports that Joe requested in a recorded phone message that his family members and other visitors not see him or his medical records.