Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on July 22, 2026, 9:33 PM

Two cancer battles at the same time presented the Shatner family with an unthinkable challenge. In the midst of his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch's fight with stage 4 breast cancer, William Shatner was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant melanoma three years later. The two discussed overcoming the terrifying phase together.

"I remember vividly thinking, 'I don't have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,'" in an interview with William that was published on July 22, Melanie informed People. "I was having a moment and was hysterical. I called you and said, 'I think I'm dying.'"

However, her father was by her side.

"He gave me, what I think of ever since I was a little girl, a 'daddy bear hug,'" she remembered. "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.'"

In less than a year following Melanie's illness, the Star Trek alum—who was given a cancer diagnosis in June 2023 that spread to his brain and lungs—noted that their two health struggles ultimately improved their bond.

"We're a very together family," he added. "We're bonded by all kinds of difficulties that we've overcome."

In the face of his own cancer diagnosis, William, who has daughters Leslie Shatner, 67, and Lisbeth Shatner, 65, with his ex-wife Gloria Rand, concentrated on finding thankfulness.

"They said, 'You got cancer. If you came in later, you would have been dead.' See? That's my life," the 95-year-old revealed. "I think the universe is taking care of me."

Regardless of the difficult health chapter, the Boston Legal alumnus acknowledged that he has been quite fortunate.

"It's easy for us in this lovely home to say, 'Make your life meaningful,'" he went on to say. "It's much more difficult to be poverty-stricken and wonder how you're going to get through it. I've been there. But it's also possible to endure that and be aware of the beauty around you."

William endured surgery to remove the tumor on his face and two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer in his brain and lungs, while Melanie suffered numerous rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and thirty radiation procedures.

"Chemo was the most physically draining, and the radiation I found so emotionally draining," the mother of two acknowledged. So, now that she's cancer-free, she considered, "I'm not so afraid anymore, and there's so much freedom and joy."

William is particularly appreciative of the medical care they had. He pointed out, "We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer."

What is the actor's current situation?

"I'm healthier now than I've been in years," William made a point. "The brain is like a muscle. It feeds on activity."