Actor William Shatner revealed he and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch were diagnosed with separate Stage 4 cancers at around the same time, with both undergoing treatment before ultimately becoming cancer-free.
In a joint interview with People, the 95-year-old said he was diagnosed three years ago with advanced melanoma that had spread to other organs, while Gretsch was being treated for Stage 4 HER2-positive breast cancer that had metastasized to her lymph nodes.
“He gave me, what I think of ever since I was a little girl, a ‘daddy bear hug,’” Gretsch, 61, recalled. “He said, ‘This is going to be a blip in your life. You’re going to get through this, and it’ll be a memory.’”
Gretsch received her diagnosis in 2022, after first discovering a lump despite having recently received a clear mammogram. Her treatment included chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and 30 rounds of radiation.
Simultaneously, Shatner learned in 2023 that his Stage 4 malignant melanoma, otherwise known as skin cancer, spread to his lungs and brain. He underwent surgery and two years of immunotherapy as a result.
“I remember vividly thinking, ‘I don’t have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,’” Gretsch told the outlet.
“[Doctors] said, ‘You got cancer. If you came in later, you would have been dead.’ See? That’s my life,” Shatner added “I think the universe is taking care of me.”
After completing respective treatments, both the “Star Trek” star and his daughter were declared cancer-free by late 2024. Both expressed gratitude toward the team of medical professionals that helped them, while maintaining a positive outlook on life.
“We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer,” Shatner said.
“He wouldn’t stop his life,” Gretsch added. “He kept working and moving forward.”
Looking back throughout the months of surgeries, therapies, and uncertainty, the father-daughter duo leaned on one another and decided to use their story to help others in similar situations.
On July 29, the two are launching a new podcast titled “No Time but Now,” where they plan to interview physicians, cancer survivors, caregivers, and wellness experts about resilience, recovery, and living with purpose after a life-changing diagnosis.
“It’s easy for us in this lovely home to say, ‘Make your life meaningful.’ It’s much more difficult to be poverty-stricken and wonder how you’re going to get through it. I’ve been there,” Shatner said. “But it’s also possible to endure that and be aware of the beauty around you.”
Gretsch said, “[Overcoming cancer] changed my life. I’m not so afraid anymore, and there’s so much freedom and joy.”
