{"id":20253,"date":"2026-07-23T00:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20253"},"modified":"2026-07-23T00:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:12:30","slug":"william-shatner-95-daughter-61-battled-cancer-at-the-same-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20253","title":{"rendered":"William Shatner, 95, daughter, 61, battled cancer at the same time"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

William Shatner and his 61-year-old daughter revealed this week that the two of them battled cancer at the same time several years ago.<\/p>\n

Melanie Shatner Gretsch first discovered her cancer four years ago when she woke up in the middle of the night and felt a little lump on her breast she thought might be a bug bite.<\/p>\n

She told People magazine she decided to have it checked out despite a mammogram not finding anything just five months earlier.<\/p>\n

DAVE COULIER REVEALS 45-POUND WEIGHT LOSS, GRUELING SIDE EFFECTS FROM CANCER FIGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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William Shatner with his daughter, Melanie Shatner; her husband, Joel Gretsch; and their daughter, Willow, in 2006.<\/span> (Barry King\/WireImage)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Although the technician didn\u2019t find anything during a scan the next day, “something pushed me back and said, \u2018No, have her recheck it.\u2019 She put the wand exactly where I put my finger and under her breath said, \u2018Now, I would have missed that.\u2019”<\/p>\n

She was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer that had spread to lymph nodes in her chest.<\/p>\n

Shatner said his daughter was “very conscious of the importance of her life for herself and for her family. I was devastated.”<\/p>\n

Gretsch is a mother to two daughters she shares with husband Joel Gretsch.<\/p>\n

Gretsch said her father told her not to worry about the medical costs and to send him the bills.<\/p>\n

“Then you made me laugh so hard when I was still going to the doctor a year later,” she added. “You said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to get well. We\u2019re going to be in the poorhouse.\u2019”<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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William Shatner at MegaCon Orlando 2026 in March.<\/span> (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For the next 18 months, her life was filled with multiple rounds of chemo, 30 radiation treatments and a double mastectomy.<\/p>\n

“Chemo was the most physically draining, and the radiation I found so emotionally draining,” she admitted.<\/p>\n

Just as she was nearing the end of her treatments, a lump appeared on her dad\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n

He said a family doctor told him it was just a blocked salivary gland that was nothing to worry about, but a doctor friend whose advice he asked while they were horseback riding advised him to get it removed.<\/p>\n

CAMERON MATHISON SAYS NOTICING SUBTLE BODY CHANGES \u2018SAVED MY LIFE\u2019 AFTER CANCER DIAGNOSIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

“He placed his hands on my cheeks, and he said with love in his voice, \u2018You better get this out,\u2019” Shatner explained.<\/p>\n

In June 2023, Shatner was diagnosed with Stage 4 malignant melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain.<\/p>\n

“I remember vividly thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,\u2019” Gretsch admitted.<\/p>\n

Shatner was more upbeat. <\/p>\n

“They said, \u2018You got cancer. If you came in later, you would have been dead.\u2019 See? That\u2019s my life. I think the universe is taking care of me.”<\/p>\n

The 95-year-old had the tumor removed and underwent two years of immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

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“He wouldn\u2019t stop his life,” his daughter told People magazine. “He kept working and moving forward. Whenever he was home, Joel and I would bring dinner to him and watch movies, just always made sure that he\u2019s not alone.”<\/p>\n

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William Shatner on “Star Trek”<\/span> (Bettmann Archive)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shatner added, “We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer.”<\/p>\n

The “Star Trek” actor, who was the oldest man in space when he went up in a Blue Origin rocket, has stayed busy with two new books and two records, all expected to come out next year.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m healthier now than I\u2019ve been in years,” Shatner said. “The brain is like a muscle. It feeds on activity.”<\/p>\n

Near the end of 2024, both were declared cancer free.<\/p>\n

“It was the third time in my life I had heard him cry,” Gretsch admitted of telling him her cancer was gone.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shatner said the experience has given him a new perspective on life.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m thinking of the miracle of a hummingbird, and of my dog taking a ball and my children,” he said. “I\u2019m aware of the magic of it all.”<\/p>\n

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Brie Stimson is a Los Angeles-based entertainment and breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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