EXCLUSIVE: William Shatner, 95, Sparks Fears His 'Days Are Numbered' After Brutal Cancer Admission

At almost the same time, his daughter Melanie, 61, whose mother was Canadian actor Gloria Rand, had been undergoing treatment for stage four breast cancer following her own diagnosis in 2022.

In a candid joint interview to promote a podcast the father and daughter are launching to chart their cancer journeys, they described how their simultaneous health battles tested the family before both ultimately became cancer free.

A source close to the family also told us: "When someone reaches William's age, any admission involving stage four cancer inevitably alarms people. Fans hear those words and fear the worst, even when the outcome is positive. His willingness to speak openly about it has reminded many just how fragile life can be. But the fear is his days are now numbered as it is very difficult to make a full recovery from something like this at his age."

Shatner explained doctors initially believed the lump on his face was harmless and advised him to massage it.

But after it continued to grow, a plastic surgeon friend urged him to have it removed immediately after recognizing it as a tumor.

The iconic actor underwent surgery before beginning two years of immunotherapy after doctors discovered the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain.

Despite the intensive treatment, his daughter said he refused to allow the illness to define his life.

She said: "He kept working and moving forward."

Melanie's ordeal began after discovering a lump in her breast just months after receiving a clear mammogram. Initially believing it was an insect bite, she requested further checks after instinct told her something was wrong.

Additional testing confirmed the cancer had spread to lymph nodes in her chest. Shatner described learning of his daughter's diagnosis as one of the hardest moments of his life. He said: "I was devastated."

Following 18 months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and 30 rounds of radiation therapy, Melanie was nearing the end of her treatment when her father received his own diagnosis.

She said: "I remember vividly thinking, 'I don't have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time.'"

Shatner, however, said doctors acted quickly enough to save his life.

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

Another source said: "The remarkable part of this story isn't simply that both of them survived. It's that they endured two separate stage four diagnoses within one family and somehow found the resilience to support one another instead of being overwhelmed by despair."

Today, both father and daughter are cancer-free. Melanie said surviving the disease had transformed her outlook on life, leaving her less fearful of the future.

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

The TV star also revealed he now feels "healthier than I've been in years."

Shatner is best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk throughout the Star Trek franchise between 1966 and 1994.

In 2021, he became the oldest person to travel into space aboard Blue Origin's NS-18 mission.

More recently, it was announced he will make his first heavy metal performance later this year with his newly formed band, The *uckers, taking the stage at Riot Fest in Chicago after organizers spent more than a decade trying to persuade him to perform.