William Shatner has revealed he and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch were both privately battling stage 4 cancer at the same time, with the pair now sharing they are cancer free.

The 95-year-old Star Trek legend and his daughter, 61, opened up about their health battles in a joint interview with People, revealing the difficult period brought them even closer as a family.

Shatner was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant melanoma in 2023 after discovering a lump on his cheek, which he later learned was a tumour.

He underwent surgery to remove the tumour, before undergoing two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.

At the time, Gretsch was also undergoing treatment for stage 4 breast cancer, having received her diagnosis a year earlier.

“We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer,” Shatner said.

Gretsch said the experience was particularly difficult as she faced her own treatment while worrying about her father’s health.

“Chemo was the most physically draining, and the radiation I found so emotionally draining,” 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.’”

Despite his diagnosis, Gretsch said her father continued working and revealed how their family came together during the difficult time.

“He wouldn’t stop his life,” she said.

“Whenever he was home, Joel and I would bring dinner to him and watch movies, just always made sure that he’s not alone.”

She also recalled how her father helped ease her concerns about the financial burden of treatment, recalling how he told her: “I do not want you to worry. Just send me the bills.”

Gretsch shared that her father had later jokingly told her: “You’ve got to get well. We’re going to be in the poorhouse!’” when she was still going to the doctor a year later.

Shatner said the experience strengthened the bond between their family.

“We’re bonded by all kinds of difficulties that we’ve overcome,” he said.

The actor has previously had to deny false online claims that he was dying from brain cancer, after rumours spread earlier this year.

“This is getting insane,” he wrote on social media in April.

“My daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. 🙄 She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I’m not ill. 🤷

“The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories. I’m fit as a fiddle. You don’t have to worry. This is getting insane,” he said.

Shatner and Gretsch are now preparing to launch a new podcast, No Time but Now, where they will speak with health experts and other cancer survivors.

Reflecting on his experience, Shatner said overcoming illness had changed his perspective.

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

Gretsch said surviving cancer had changed the way she viewed life.

“[Overcoming cancer] changed my life. I’m not so afraid anymore, and there’s so much freedom and joy,” she said.

Images: People Instagram