William Shatner and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch have both survived Stage 4 cancer diagnoses, and both are now in remission with no evidence of disease.
Shatner Gretsch was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer at age 60 in 2022 after discovering a lump in her breast. About a year later, Shatner, now 95, learned he had Stage 4 melanoma. "I went to an oncologist ... and they operated almost immediately with Stage 4 melanoma," he said. The pair spoke exclusively with People magazine about their diagnoses, treatments, and what surviving cancer changed for each of them, according to ABC News.
Historically, Stage 4 melanoma carried a median survival time of less than a year. Over the past decade, advances in immunotherapy, which empowers the body's immune system to fight tumor cells, and other targeted treatments have improved outcomes considerably. Stage 4 breast cancer, also called metastatic breast cancer, refers to cancer that has spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes to distant organs, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Despite the seriousness of his own diagnosis, Shatner Gretsch said her father showed no sign of fear. "His response was like, 'I'm gonna be fine,'" she recalled. She described one night during her treatment when she called him believing she was dying. "I called you and I said, 'I think I'm dying,'" she said. She could hear him getting out of bed before he told her he was coming over.
Shatner credited his family with helping both of them through. "We're in a very together family. We're bonded by all kinds of difficulties that we overcame. And who knows what else we're going to overcome," he said.
The experience changed how both of them see daily life. Shatner Gretsch said her father notices things differently now. "He gets more joy out of seeing a bird fly past his window and is more aware and has taught my sisters and I to be so aware of the sunrise and the blue sky," she said. Shatner added: "I find myself like driving my car ... and I'm smiling about it." He continued: "It's these miracles of life. If you let them go by, you lose your joy of living."
The father and daughter have also launched a podcast called "No Time, But Now," where they discuss life, family, and finding joy in small moments. Shatner is best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek" television series and later starred in "T.J. Hooker" and "The Practice."
