William Shatner and his daughter fought stage 4 cancer at the same time
William Shatner and his daughter fought stage 4 cancer at the same time
Mekishana PierreWed, July 22, 2026 at 3:56 PM UTC
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Melanie Shatner and father William Shatner in 2006Credit: Barry King/WireImageKey Points -
William Shatner and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch are opening up about how they supported one another through simultaneous stage 4 cancer journeys.
Melanie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, while Shatner was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain the year after.
Now cancer-free, the duo is launching a health, wellness and longevity podcast, No Time but Now, on July 29.
William Shatner and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch are opening up about supporting one another through simultaneous stage 4 cancer journeys.
In an interview with PEOPLE published Wednesday, Shatner and Gretsch revealed that they’ve been cancer-free since late 2024, after the Star Trek star battled malignant melanoma and his daughter metastatic breast cancer.
Gretsch, 61, was diagnosed with breast cancer — which had metastasized to her chest’s lymph nodes — in July 2022. Shatner described being “devastated” by the news, although he immediately became a pillar of support for his daughter, both emotionally and financially. “He gave me, what I think of ever since I was a little girl, a ‘daddy bear hug,’” she 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.’”
“You said to me, ‘I do not want you to worry. Just send me the bills,’” Gretsch directed to her father. “Then you made me laugh so hard when I was still going to the doctor a year later. You said, ‘You’ve got to get well. We’re going to be in the poorhouse!’”
Melanie and William Shatner in 2006Credit: Barry King/WireImage
Only 11 months after Gretsch was first diagnosed, and while she was undergoing chemotherapy — 30 radiation treatments, and a double mastectomy over the 18 months after her diagnosis —Shatner was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain.
“I remember vividly thinking, ‘I don’t have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,’” Gretsch shared. But Shatner remained optimistic. “They said, ‘You got cancer. If you came in later, you would have been dead.’ See? That’s my life,” he recalled. “I think the universe is taking care of me.”
Shatner underwent surgery to remove the tumor that had formed on his cheek, which was followed by two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer in his lungs and brain.
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Both he and Gretsch said they are exceedingly grateful to the care teams that supported them throughout their individual chemotherapy journeys. “We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer,” Shatner stated.
Obviously, those years weren’t easy for either of them, which made leaning on one another all the more important. Gretsch remembered trying to handle a challenging roadblock during her chemotherapy when Shatner drove to her house in the middle of the night to give her the strength she needed to push through. “He gave me … a ‘daddy bear hug,’” she said. “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.’”
“We’re a very together family,” Shatner added proudly. “We’re bonded by all kinds of difficulties that we’ve overcome.”
Having been cancer-free since 2024 has brought everything into perspective for the duo, they told the outlet. “I’m thinking of the miracle of a hummingbird, and of my dog taking a ball, and my children,” Shatner said of finding gratitude in everyday things. “I’m aware of the magic of it all.”
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The father-daughter duo are taking their new outlook on life and utilizing it for a new weekly podcast series titled No Time But Now (presented by LifeWave). The two will interview health experts and other survivors, including end-of-life advocate Alua Arthur, Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, “The King of Chemo” Ian Ward, Dying to Be Me author Anita Moorjani and pioneering nutrition researcher Dr. William Li.
No Time but Now will debut on podcast streaming services on July 29,
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
