Random Celebrities Who Survived Cancer (28 items)

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  (#1) Hugh Jackman

  • 1968-10-12

  Hugh Jackman has undergone three surgeries to remove skin cancer from his nose within a year's time. The X-Men actor thinks he will need many more treatments: "I'm realistic about the future and it's more than likely that I'll have at least one more but probably many more."

  He also said: "[This] is not uncommon for an Aussie, particularly from English stock growing up in Australia where I don't remember ever being told to put sunscreen on."
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  (#2) Sheryl Crow

  • 1962-02-11

  "Soak Up the Sun" singer Sheryl Crow is a breast cancer survivor.
  
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  (#3) Robert De Niro

  • 1943-08-17

  Robert De Niro is a prostate cancer survivor.
  
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  (#4) Olivia Newton-John

  • 1948-09-26

  Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She underwent treatment and is now an advocate for cancer research. Unfortunately, in 2017, Newton-John's cancer returned. 
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  (#5) Kathy Bates

  • 1948-06-28

  Kathy Bates is a two-time cancer survivor. She beat ovarian cancer in 2003 and breast cancer in 2012.
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  (#6) Rod Stewart

  • 1945-01-10

  Rod Stewart is a survivor of thyroid cancer.
  
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  (#7) Michael C. Hall

  • 1971-02-01

  "Dexter" actor Michael C. Hall is a survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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  (#8) Sharon Osbourne

  • 1952-10-09

  Sharon Osbourne documented her 2002 struggle with colon cancer on her MTV reality show "The Osbournes."
  
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  (#9) Lance Armstrong

  • 1971-09-18

  Lance Armstrong is a survivor of testicular cancer. He said, "To continue believing in yourself, believing in the doctors, believing in the treatment, believing in whatever I chose to believe in, that was the most important thing, I decided. It had to be."
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  (#10) Jane Fonda

  • 1937-12-21

  Jane Fonda is a breast cancer survivor. She wrote on her blog: "We got it early and it was, as I said, non-invasive. I want to thank my friends and fans who have written beautiful ­letters. It has meant a lot to me."

  In January 2018, Fonda revealed she had had a cancerous tumor removed from her lip as well.
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  (#11) Mark Ruffalo

  • 1967-11-22

  Mark Ruffalo had a benign brain tumor removed in 2002.
  
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  (#12) Giuliana Rancic

  • 1974-08-17

  Giuliana Rancic is a breast cancer survivor. She said: "Because I've gone public with the breast cancer, I hear a lot of stories and some are not as great as others. Whether it's resulting in complications from surgery...whatever the case, I hear it all."

  She continued: "And I realize how fortunate I am...to have just kind of gotten out of there OK, because it is such a major surgery."
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  (#13) Christina Applegate

  • 1971-11-25

  Christina Applegate is a breast cancer survivor. She explained why she decided to have a double mastectomy: "It just seemed like, 'I don't want to have to deal with this again. I don't want to keep putting that stuff in my body."

  She also said: "I just want to be done with this.' And I was just going to let them go."
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  (#14) Robin Roberts

  • 1957-01-01

  Robin Roberts is a breast cancer survivor. 
  
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  (#15) Edie Falco

  • 1963-07-05

  "The Sopranos" actress Edie Falco is a breast cancer survivor. She explains why she kept her illness a secret on the set of the HBO drama: "It was very important for me to keep my diagnosis under the radar, even from the cast and crew of "The Sopranos."

  She explained further: "...well-meaning people would have driven me crazy asking, “How are you feeling?” I would have wanted to say, “I'm scared, I don't feel so good, and my hair is falling out."
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  (#16) Melissa Etheridge

  • 1961-05-29

  Singer Melissa Etheridge is a breast cancer survivor. She said: "Once I overcame breast cancer, I wasn't afraid of anything anymore."
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  (#17) Suzanne Somers

  • 1946-10-16

  Suzanne Somers is a breast cancer survivor. She chose to have surgery and use alternative treatment for which she has become an advocate.
  
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  (#18) Wanda Sykes

  • 1964-03-07

  Wanda Sykes is a breast cancer survivor. She told Ellen DeGeneres she was hesitant to announce her cancer diagnosis because of the attention it would bring and the responsibility she would have as a celebrity. 

  "I was like I don't know, should I talk about it or what. How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything," Sykes said.
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  (#19) Nancy Regan

  • 1966-01-01

  Nancy Reagan had surgery to treat breast cancer in 1987.
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  (#20) Hoda Kotb

  • 1964-08-09

  Hoda Kotb is a breast cancer survivor. She documented her illness by allowing cameras from "The Today Show" to follow her throughout treatment.
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  (#21) Cynthia Nixon

  • 1966-04-09

  "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon is a breast cancer survivor.
  
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  (#22) Maura Tierney

  • 1965-02-03

  Maura Tierney is a breast cancer survivor.
  
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  (#23) Kylie Minogue

  • 1968-05-28

  Pop star Kylie Minogue is a breast cancer survivor. 
  
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  (#24) Anastacia

  • 1968-09-17

  Pop star Anastacia survived breast cancer and a double mastectomy.
  
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  (#25) Richard Roundtree

  • 1942-07-09

  Shaft actor Richard Roundtree survived a rare diagnosis of male breast cancer.
  
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  (#26) Drew Pinsky

  • 1958-09-04

  In 2013, Dr. Drew Pinsky revealed that he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. He is cancer free. He now stresses the importance for men to have tough conversations with their doctors and take initiative to ask for testing starting at 40. In a 2014 interview, he said, "They’re not getting it diagnosed early and they’re having more deaths from prostate cancer." 
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  (#27) Shannen Doherty

  • 1971-04-12

  Shannen Doherty revealed in 2015 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, in April 2017, Doherty took to Instagram to announce her cancer had gone into remission. 

  Update: Unfortunately, on February 4, 2020, Doherty revealed that her cancer had come back, and it was stage 4. "Our life doesn't end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do," Doherty said.

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