Madonna's brother Anthony Ciccone's cause of death revealed to be to be respiratory failure and throat cancer
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Madonna's oldest brother's cause of death has been confirmed as being due to a combination of respiratory failure and throat cancer, as per reports. Anthony Ciccone died at the age of 66 in February, reportedly from multiple health issues specifically oropharyngeal cancer, which can be caused by smoking.
Ciccone was receiving treatment at a Michigan nursing facility when he died, with Madonna taking care of the bills. He reportedly had his feeding and breathing tubes removed two days before dying, despite being aware of the consequences. His death certificate confirmed that he has since been cremated, according to TMZ. The news comes a month after the 'Material Girl' hitmaker paid a heartfelt tribute to her sibling alongside a throwback photo. In the black and white snap shared on her Instagram stories, the pair can be seen enjoying their time surrounded by their close ones.
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'Farewell, then, brother Anthony'
"Thank you for blowing my mind as a young girl and introducing me to Charlie Parker, Miles David, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac, expansive thinking, outside the box," she wrote. "You planted many important seeds," she added alongside a red heart emoji.
Musician Joe Henry, who is the husband of Madonna's sister Melanie Ciccone, announced the news of Anthony's death. "My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening. I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone. As brother Dave Henry (who took this photograph) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can. But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on. But trouble fades; and family remains— with hands reached across the table," he wrote alongside a black-and-white picture of his brother-in-law on Instagram. "Farewell, then, brother Anthony. I want to think the god your blessed mother (and mine) believed in has her there, waiting to receive you. At least for today, no one shall dissuade me from this vision,” he concluded.
Ciccone didn't like being known as Madonna's brother
Ciccone’s former partner Carolina Gengo talked about his love for reading. "He was a lost soul trying to find his way but he was a good person. He had books everywhere, that was all he really had. He was into reading about life and philosophy. And he wanted to sit around and talk about it," she said, as per the Daily Mail. "He talked about what it was like being the brother of Madonna, he didn't like being known as the brother of Madonna."