Celebrities who have survived cancer

This week, Jeopardy! star Alex Trebek revealed his doctors say his pancreatic cancer is in "near remission."
The 78-year-old who is originally from Sudbury, Ontario opened up to People about his battle with the extremely aggressive, difficult-to-treat cancer, saying doctors are surprised with his progress and that some of his tumours have shrunk by 50 per cent. He still has a few more treatments to go through before he can officially be declared in remission, but he says he's feeling optimistic and good.
Alex isn't the only celebrity who's bravely looked cancer in the face and fought on despite the odds. In light of Alex's latest comments, click through the gallery to see stars who've survived cancer.
Photo: © Getty Images

Michael Douglas
In 2010, the Oscar-winner said he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer (which was later revealed to be tongue cancer) and said he would have chemotherapy and radiation treatments to fight it.
Michael was outspoken about his belief that Canada’s healthcare system helped detect the cancer. He credited doctors in Montreal for the diagnosis, saying American doctors had failed to adequately label his health problem. He has also been open about his belief that his alcohol abuse and smoking led to the cancer.
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Ben Stiller
In 2016, the Zoolander star revealed he had been battling an "aggressive" form of cancer for the past two years. The comedian said then he had had prostate cancer and had since made a full recovery.
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Hugh Jackman
The X-Men and Wolverine star has battled skin cancer repeatedly since 2013. He has had several carcinomas removed from his nose, and during his third recurrence in 2016, he urged followers to “wear sunscreen,” saying his skin cancer was “the mildest form.. but serious, nonetheless.”
Photo: © Getty Images

Giuliana Rancic
The E! News co-anchor was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2011. She had a double lumpectomy that year to remove it, which she followed with radiation therapy. Later that year, Giuliana revealed she had had a double mastectomy following her treatment.
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Jane Fonda
The Palme d’Or winner underwent a lumpectomy to remove breast cancer in 2010. Just last month, she revealed she had had a cancerous growth removed from her lower lip in 2018 and pre-melanoma growths had also been removed from her skin.
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Michael C. Hall
The Golden Globe-winning Dexter and Six Feet Under star battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2010. He has been outspoken about how difficult it was to be diagnosed with the disease at age 38 when his own father had died of cancer at age 39. His cancer has been in remission since 2010.
Photo: © Wikipedia

Christina Applegate
The former Married… with Children star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Luckily, it was detected early thanks to an MRI, and was not considered life-threatening. The star had a double mastectomy the same year because tests showed she had inherited a BRCA1 mutation, a trait that can cause breast cancer. Christina’s mother is also a breast cancer survivor.
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Robin Roberts
The Good Morning America co-anchor was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. She had surgery that same year, and had completed chemotherapy by January 2008, which she followed up with radiation treatment.
In 2012, she was also diagnosed with a bone marrow disease, took leave and got a transplant.
Photo: © Wikipedia

Cynthia Nixon
In 2008, the Sex and the City star revealed she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer two years prior, but had opted not to go public with her battle because she worried it would affect her career. She has since become one of Hollywood’s most prominent breast cancer activists.
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Sheryl Crow
The nine-time Grammy nominee was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, and said then doctors told her “prognosis for a full recovery is excellent.”
In 2017, she opened up about surviving breast cancer, saying the 33 radiation treatments she underwent in just under two months made her rethink her life and prompted her decision to adopt two boys, Wyatt and Levi, in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
”No matter how much you think you can control things in life, you really don’t,” she told Country Living in 2017. “I was perfectly healthy, had no family history, and wound up with a breast cancer diagnosis, so some things just happen.”
Photo: © Wikipedia

Robert De Niro
The Godfather star and two-time Academy Award-winner was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003. He underwent surgery that same year.
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Kathy Bates
The Oscar-winner has beaten both ovarian cancer and breast cancer. She was diagnosed with the former in 2003, and in 2012 she revealed she’d had a double mastectomy after being told she had breast cancer.
Photo: © Wikipedia

Edie Falco
The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003.
Photo: © Wikipedia

Sharon Osbourne
The former X Factor and America’s Got Talent judge announced she’d had surgery for colon cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes in 2002. Her battle with the illness was highly documented during the second season of MTV’s The Osbournes.
Since then, she’s become a cancer activist, having founded the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Hospital.
In 2012, she revealed she’d also had a double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that increased her risk of developing breast cancer.
Photo: © John Phillips/WireImage

Mark Ruffalo
In 2001, the Academy Award nominee was diagnosed with brain cancer and had surgery to remove a benign tumour that left him with partial facial paralysis for a time. The tumour has left him with deafness in one ear.
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Rod Stewart
The rock 'n' roll legend was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2000, for which he had surgery. There were big questions about whether the operation would permanently damage his voice, but he learned how to sing again. He's since become a cancer activist, and is particularly enthusiastic about raising money for cancers affecting children.
Photo: © Tristar Media/Getty Images

Mr. T
The former professional wrestler and A-Team star was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in 1995 when he went to the doctor after removing an earring and feeling a bump behind his ear.
”Can you imagine that? Cancer with my name on it - personalized cancer,” he told Coping magazine. https://www.menshealth.com/health/g19547029/celebrities-who-survived-cancer/?slide=11
His cancer came back several times before he was declared cancer-free, but now he’s got a clean bill of health.
Photo: © Larry French/Getty Images for USOC

Shannen Doherty
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star is another celeb who has battled breast cancer.
In 2015, she said she’d been diagnosed with the illness, which had spread to her lymph nodes. The following year, she had a double mastectomy after anti-estrogen treatments were unable to shrink her tumour so she could have a lumpectomy. During that surgery, her cancer was revealed to be more widespread than doctors had thought, so she went through chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In 2017, she announced her cancer was in remission.
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