“She also said, ‘Pack your bags, you have five months at most,'” Shatner told USA TODAY of the prognosis he and his daughter Melanie received. “So it was just the two of us.”
William Shatner reveals that he and his daughter Melanie beat cancer
William Shatner has revealed that he and his daughter Melanie were both battling stage 4 cancer at the same time. Both are now cancer-free, Shatner said.
William Shatner and his youngest daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch overcame one of life’s most difficult challenges together: simultaneous cancer diagnoses.
The 95-year-old “Star Trek” icon told USA TODAY that he battled stage 4 melanoma and that his daughter Melanie, now 61, battled stage 4 breast cancer three years ago.
Shatner’s health issues began in June 2023 when he developed a lump on his cheek, which continued to grow.
“My doctor said I needed to have it removed, and it was a stage 4 malignant tumor. Ten years ago, it would have killed me,” Shatner said. “Imagine going to your doctor’s office and being told, “Pack your bags. You have five months to live. You have stage 4 melanoma.”
Around the same time, Shatner’s youngest child, Melanie, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
“She also told me, ‘Pack your bags, you only have five months at most,'” Shatner recalled. “So it was just the two of us.”
“Can you imagine being told you have five months to live?” he continues. “I don’t know what your motives are or what you want to do first, but to be told you have five months to live? And some of that time will be critical. What are you going to do?”
Shatner’s cancer spread to his lungs and brain, but after surgery and two years of immunotherapy, he is now on the other side of his health battle. He says his daughter also recovered from a cancer scare.
“We don’t have cancer,” Shatner said.
In a joint interview with People magazine, Melanie said, “I vividly remember thinking, “I don’t have the strength to take care of myself.”” and At the same time, I will lose my father.”
On July 29, the father-daughter duo will launch a new weekly podcast series titled “No Time But Now,” interviewing health experts and other survivors, including end-of-life supporter Arua Arthur, Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, “King of Chemotherapy” Ian Ward, “Dying to Be Me” author Anita Moorjani, and pioneering nutrition researcher Dr. William Lee.
In addition to Melanie, Shatner also has daughters Leslie Shatner, 67, and Lizabeth Shatner, 65, with the late actress Gloria Land.
