In a heartbreaking admission, Vanessa Hudgens opened up about her father and his recent diagnosis with a serious illness. “My dad has recently been diagnosed with stage four cancer,” the 26-year-old actress told the audience at the 2015 Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show, when she accepted her award for Breakthrough Performer.
Sadly it was not only her own father that was on her mind as she accepted the award. “Last year, my boyfriend, Austin, lost his mom, Lori, to cancer,” she said about the mother of her longtime boyfriend, the actor Austin Butler.
“This award, it means a lot to me but I dedicate it to my boyfriend's mom, Lori, my dad, and to all the families out there who are struggling with this, because it really takes a strong person and a strong family to be able to help those out who are going through this," a visibly emotional Vanessa told supporters at the event, which benefits The Circle of Hope, a charity for dancers who have survived cancer.
She had alluded to her father being sick recently on her Instagram, when she posted a photo of the two of them together with a caption that read in part, “Please pray for his healing!!! The more prayers the better,” without specifically saying what he was ill with.
Vanessa posted about her dad being sick on Instagram Photo: Instagram/@vanessahudgens
It has been a difficult past couple of months for the High School Musical actress. Just recently she has been seen wearing a giant cast around her entire right hand. It was known that she had broken her finger, but how exactly was a mystery until now. “I fell down some stairs, and when I got back up my finger was bending the wrong way,” she told HELLO!. “I got it taped up at the ER, and they were like, ‘Get it looked at when you get back to LA.’ I was in England. I got back and my doctor had to re-break my finger, which was fun!”
The actress has relied on her boyfriend Austin through this difficult time Photo: Instagram/@vanessahudgens
While facing all of these struggles, she and her boyfriend have continued to be a source of major support for each other. Recently she was seen taking him out to Disneyland to celebrate his 24th birthday. Vanessa told us what her favorite part of the day was. “The Tower of Terror! We all drank massive coffees beforehand so we had so much energy and we were the only ones on the elevator. I was screaming the entire time,” she said with a laugh.
