William Shatner has shared that he and his youngest daughter, Melanie, were facing stage 4 cancer during the same harrowing period, opening up about the family ordeal in a deeply personal new interview.
The 95-year-old Star Trek icon, who disclosed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, was undergoing his own life-threatening health battle as Melanie, 61, was being treated for HER2-positive breast cancer that had spread to lymph nodes in her chest.
In an interview with People, Melanie said her father’s resilience amid his own diagnosis became a source of strength for her while she endured chemotherapy three years ago.
Recalling one frightening moment, she said she became overwhelmed and phoned him in tears, telling him, “I think I’m dying.”
Shatner, she said, came to her home right away and wrapped her in what she has always thought of as a “daddy bear hug.” He reassured her, saying, “This is going to be a blip in your life. You’re going to get through this, and it’ll be a memory.”
The actor, forever known to fans as Captain Kirk, was diagnosed in June 2023 with stage 4 malignant melanoma, which had spread to his lungs and brain.
William Shatner has revealed that he and his youngest daughter Melanie were both fighting stage 4 cancer at the same time, discussing the emotional experience in a new interview — pictured in 2006
The 95-year-old Star Trek legend, who said in 2024 that he had previously been diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, was battling for his life as Melanie, 61, underwent treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer that had spread to lymph nodes in her chest — seen with Melanie, left, and her sister Lisabeth in the 1990s
Melanie, whose mother is Shatner’s late ex-wife Gloria Rand, said, ‘I remember vividly thinking, “I don’t have the strength to take care of myself lose my father at the same time”.’
Shatner was ‘unshakable’ and vowed that the ‘universe is taking care of me.’
Melanie first discovered a lump on her breast in July 2022 – which she initially mistook for a bug bite.
Testing later confirmed the mother of two had breast cancer, which had already spread, leaving her concerned for her family’s future and her medical bills.
She revealed Shatner told her ‘I do not want you to worry. Just send me the bills’, with Melanie adding ‘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 underwent multiple rounds of chemo with HER2-targeted therapies, a double mastectomy and 30 radiation therapy treatments for 18 months.
In the final leg of her treatment, she spotted a concerning lump on Shatner’s cheek, which began to grow.
Although initially ruled out a blocked salivary gland by a family doctor, Shatner sought further advice from a plastic surgeon friend.
He had surgery to remove the tumor on his face, followed by two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer in his lungs and brain.
Speaking to People , Melanie said her father’s strength during his own illness got her through chemotherapy three years ago
Shatner is best-known as the Starship Enterprise’s Captain Kirk, whom he played through the run of the original Star Trek series from 1966 to 1969 – pictured 1968
Melanie said, ‘he wouldn’t stop his life. 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’s not alone.’
The pair credit their survival and beating the odds to groundbreaking treatments.
Two decades ago, the survival rate for people with Shatner’s diagnosis was six to eight months.
Dr. Omid Hamid, the chief of translational research and immuno-oncology at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute who developed immunotherapy treatment used on Shatner said the star is doing ‘phenomenally well.’
He said, ‘He was treated with a combination of two drugs, and they target areas in our immune system that serve to dampen the immune response. So when you view these drugs, it blocks that dampening and allows our immune system to be active and to recognize tumor cells as foreign.’
In late 2024, both father and daughter were confirmed to be cancer free – with Melanie saying Shatner burst into tears when she told him the happy news, adding, ‘It was the third time in my life I had heard him cry.’
Shatner is best-known as the Starship Enterprise’s Captain Kirk, whom he played through the run of the original Star Trek series from 1966 to 1969.
The cast featured Leonard Nimoy as Spock, DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy, James Doohan as Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott and Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura.
Shatner reprised the part of Captain Kirk on the animated series and the first seven films, including the 1982 fan favorite Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
He is also known for later career roles such as the title character on the 1980s police procedural T.J. Hooker and a beauty pageant master of ceremonies in the 2000 Sandra Bullock comedy Miss Congeniality.
Shatner’s first two wives, whom he divorced, were Canadian actress Gloria Rand and producer Peter Lafferty’s daughter Marcy Lafferty.
He married his third wife Nerine Kidd in 1997, two years before she drowned tragically in their swimming pool at the age of 40 with alcohol and Valium in her system.
In the final leg of her treatment, she spotted a concerning lump on Shatner’s cheek, which began to grow. Although initially ruled out a blocked salivary gland by a family doctor, Shatner sought further advice from a plastic surgeon friend – pictured 2000
In his memoirs, he described Kidd as an alcoholic who was drunk at 8am the day after their wedding and whose repeated rehab stints failed to result in lasting sobriety.
Shatner’s romance with Elizabeth Martin began after she joined the hundreds of well-wishers who wrote to him after Kidd’s death, and he recognized her name because of their mutual involvement in horse circles, according to his autobiography.
They tied the knot in 2001, and in the years since they got back together after their short-lived split, he has showered her with praise, for example calling her ‘the zest of life’ in a 2023 interview with The Mirror.
Shatner is the proud father of three daughters, Leslie, 67, Lisabeth, 64, and Melanie, all of whom he welcomed with his first wife.
