Joe Jackson, father of Michael, Janet and the performing family, and architect of The Jackson 5, is in the final stages of terminal cancer, a source close to the situation confirmed to TMZ and Britain’s Daily Mail first.

Family members, including his wife Katherine, are said to have visited him in the hospital this week. Jackson, 89, has suffered from a variety of ailments in recent years, including dementia, strokes, and at least one heart attack, according to reports. He was injured in a car accident a year ago.

The Daily Mail claims that Jackson’s “handlers” had barred certain family members from visiting him, which son and former Jackson 5 member Jermaine spoke about to the paper.

“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 reportedly 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,” he continued. “The family needs to be by his bedside — that’s our only intention in his final days.”