Toni Braxton's sister Traci dies at 50 of esophageal cancer

I had no idea she was battling cancer...people were wondering about her dramatic weight loss last year. I just saw this video on Twitter and this is a great way to remember Traci.

I'm sad to hear this. RIP Traci.

Esophageal cancer is an awful way to die.

RIP Traci. She will be missed.

I didn't know she was ill. My heart goes out to her family, especially her husband, kids and her mother. The Braxtons are a really tight-knit family. I hope they find solace in the fact that she's no longer suffering.

Was she a smoker? I don't watch their reality show.

Smoking and second hand smoke can cause many types of cancer. A female friend who never smoked in her life, grew up with one parent who smoked two packs a day, this woman ended up getting uterine cancer. Ironically, the father never developed any kid of cancer.

I did read that those acid reflux drugs can actually cause esophageal cancer.

Forgot to add, the father was the 2 pack a day smoker. His heavy smoking also caused the mom to develop high blood pressure. The mom was always healthy otherwise, slim and active.

Smokers and smoking sucks.

My dad died of it too, he smoked rollups. It's one of the most deadly forms of cancer because it doesn't show symptoms until it's quite advanced.

And I shall never breathe again.

"Was she a smoker?" is one of Amy Sedaris' top ten things never to ask when someone dies.

Or was it one of the top ten things to always ask?

I don't know. I remember when I was around fifteen, one of my dad's coworkers died from lung cancer. My dad is a decent human being who gets along with nearly everyone, and he had that "jeez, she was just fine X ago..." bewilderment that people get when some they see nearly every day deteriorates quickly and dies. "Well that's what she gets for smoking!" my mom said, as if she'd seen it all when she was not even 35 at the time and had never seen much beyond the town she was born in, as if it made her so smart because someone died of a bad habit that just happened to be one of the ones she avoided although she has her own.

It's an ugly response, isn't it?

I dont recall Traci ever smoking on their show.

agree r5 they are a very close family and I hope they can find some peace. I know whatever differences they had are long gone now.

Also, when a notable person dies of a horrible disease, it really scares people. They want to pinpoint a cause like cigarettes, drugs or alcohol instead of acknowledging that some people just get cancer and die. It could happen to anybody.

You always want a reason to think “it couldn’t be me”. I had a father and brother die of liver disease - neither of whom drank, also know someone died of lung cancer who never smoked. Some people just have bad luck - and/or genes.

[quote]It's an ugly response, isn't it?

Why is asking about smoking "an ugly response"? It's CLEARLY stated on every fucking pack of cigarettes that smoking can be very detrimental to your health. If people are stupid enough to smoke, and second hand smoke makes others ill in the process, fuck anyone who smokes.

Every person who died of heart disease in my family was a heavy smoker, some of those morons smoked unfiltered cigarettes.

One relative had several heart bypass surgeries, yet continued to smoke. How can anyone have sympathy for such people? There's more than enough info out there informing the public how bad these habits are.

[quote]You always want a reason to think “it couldn’t be me”. I had a father and brother die of liver disease - neither of whom drank, also know someone died of lung cancer who never smoked. Some people just have bad luck - and/or genes.

Liver and kidney disease can be caused by many other factors other than drinking alcohol. They can actually be caucused by medications taken to treat other medical disorders. Diabetes also causes many other secondary health issues.

sad.

Traci was the least talented singer of her family (her sisters, brother and mother are all great) and she never got over her lack of singing career. The execs dropped her from her sisters' group (after Toni had gone solo) because she was pregnant. Her frustrations about what happened back in the early 90s kept showing up throughout the Braxtons' reality show and she frequently fought Tamar and Towanda. It does seem like in the last 2 years they made peace. I'm assuming that's when she got the diagnosis.

I don't think she smoked but she did drink a lot.

She has 1 child, a son in his mid 20s who has a child. Traci helped to raise and babysit her grandchild when her son and his wife were at work.

I only watched a few episodes from season 1 of their show. I didn't know Tracy and Tamar fought. I got the impression Toni, Trina and Towanda were tight while Tamar and Tracy were the outsiders.

In any event, I'm glad Tracy got to live out some of her dreams and put out a couple of solo records. That reality show helped them because it gave Toni's sisters a chance to make a name for themselves which they had been trying for do for so long.

R17 the last couple seasons of the show were so toxic it was uncomfortable to watch. Tamar got on everyone's nerves but she and Traci had the worst fights.

What did they fight about R18? I'm genuinely interested since I stopped watching after season 1.

R19 I don't remember all of it but I think most of the fights sadly just stemmed from the earlier seasons, petty stuff and the music career. It just got amplified with every season. Both Tamar and Traci played the victim with each other and everyone else. Traci in particular would get pissed watching the show back and seeing the shady confessional comments that Tamar was known for

1 of the latter seasons the sisters went to a winery in Napa. During 1 of the dinners another argument ensued and Traci leaned over in Tamar's face saying "you make it so fucking hard to love you:

I think the last season Trina got married again. During the wedding in the changing area, Traci actually charged Tamar off-camera and we saw the fallout from that.

Then there was the whole family sitdown with Iyanla that didn't go well either

Toni who played the role of 2nd mom said her sisters never fought this much before the show started and it embarrassed her.

Towanda tended to gaslight Tamar and Traci to provoke drama for the show

r19 Traci constantly felt disrespected by other four the sisters, especially Tamar.

Traci had her son at the beginning of their careers and didn't want to continue singing. That started the separation between her and the rest of the sisters; it kind of just evolved and continued on for many years.

R21 Traci wanted to keep singing but the execs said either get an abortion or have the baby but you're out of the group. Traci was bitter about that because a year or so before Trina got pregnant and the execs didn't force her out of the group but Trina was 1 of the lead singers so they considered her more valuable

Didn't one of Trina's ex-husbands who appeared on the show die fairly recently?

r23, Yes, It was Gabe who died...

not long after their divorce, Gabe died of cancer

not long after that Trina moved on to her current husband

[quote]Also, when a notable person dies of a horrible disease, it really scares people. They want to pinpoint a cause like cigarettes, drugs or alcohol instead of acknowledging that some people just get cancer and die. It could happen to anybody.

Esophageal cancer has multiple well-documented risk factors. It’s more common in men and people over 55, which didn’t fit Traci’s demographics. Tobacco use and alcohol use are known risk factors, as well as GERD, Barrett’s esophagus, abs several other conditions.