William Shatner and his daughter Melanie Shatner they shed light on their battles with stage IV cancer – which they fought at the same time.
Melanie, 61, was undergoing chemotherapy for stage IV breast cancer in June 2023 when William, 95, was diagnosed with stage IV malignant melanoma, which had spread to his lungs and brain.
“I clearly remember thinking, 'I don't have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,'” Melanie said. People in an interview published on Wednesday, July 22.
William, on the other hand, remained optimistic while receiving his treatment. “They said, 'You have cancer, if you had come in later, you would have died,' she said. “You see, that's my life, I think the universe is taking care of me.”
Melanie first found a lump in her breast one year before her father was diagnosed.
“I woke up in the middle of the night, and my finger went up right under my breast, I felt a lump and I thought, 'Bug bites,'” she recalled, noting that she had been diagnosed with a clear mammogram five months earlier.
Melanie took a photo the next day just to be safe, adding, “Something took me back and said, 'No, ask him to check again.' He put the stick in where I put my finger and under his breath he said, 'Now, I must have missed that.'”
Melanie's HER2 positive breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in her chest. William was “devastated” when he heard about his daughter's health.
“He was very aware of the importance of his life to himself and his family,” he said.
Eventually William took over the cost of Melanie's cancer treatment.
“He said to me, 'I don't want you to worry. “Then he made me laugh a lot when I went to the doctor a year later, he said, 'You have to get well, we'll be in a poor house!'
Melanie underwent multiple rounds of chemo with HER2-targeted therapies, a double mastectomy and 30 radiation treatments.
“Chemo was the most physically exhausting thing for me, and the radiation I received is very emotional,” he added.
During her treatment, Melanie noticed a lump on her father's cheek.
“I went to the family doctor, and he said, 'It's your salivation.
William later underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his face, followed by two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer in his lungs and brain.
“We found the perfect doctors for his cancer and my cancer,” William continued.
William and Melanie were both declared cancer-free in late 2024.
“It was the third time in my life I heard him cry,” said Melanie, while her father added, “now I'm healthier than I've been in years. The brain is like a muscle.
After each individual's health scare, Melanie and William have a different perspective on death.
“I think you will live longer than me, but I have always thought that if you go first, then I will not be afraid because you will be the one who will help me when I go,” Melanie told William, who laughed, “it is a big responsibility.”
