It doesn’t matter if you grew up watching Star Trek in the ’60s or if you have become familiar with it in more recent years, it’s difficult to deny the iconic role that William Shatner played in the series. As Capt. James T Kirk, he commanded the Starship Enterprise and he is considered by many to be the best captain of any Star Trek show.
Unfortunately, many of his contemporaries who were on the original Star Trek series have passed away. William Shatner has continued to be a part of our lives in many ways, but unfortunately, he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Not only is William Shatner known for his role on Star Trek, he has eight albums that have been released and has been on countless commercials. He admitted that he had a fortunate life, but that he had experienced death in many ways as well.
One of the ways that he experienced death was with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Understandably, he became concerned shortly after the diagnosis that his days would not be very long.
In an interview with NBC, Shatner said: “I was told by a doctor that I had a deadly condition. That I was going to die.
“I wasn’t sure how to react to the news. We were discussing my funeral.
“The doctor informed me that I had cancer. I reasoned that there had to be an error.”
Many people don’t realize that they have prostate cancer until it is advanced. It tends to be a slow-growing type of cancer and it is not until the prostate grows enough to obstruct the urethra that they start looking for reasons why it is happening.
William Shatner’s doctor gave him a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to determine if the cancer was life-threatening or if other conditions were leading to the higher levels.
“He took my PSA, a marker for this disease, to figure out which sort it was,” Shatner stated of his diagnosis.
“Up until that time, it was at one or two, well within acceptable ranges. He announced that it was ten. ‘Aggressive cancer,’ says the doctor. Ten! My own body had deceived me.”
William Shatner was confused at the diagnosis and was angry as well. It wasn’t long before he was thinking about the possibility of dying.
“I recognized my prognosis; I had drafted my will, which indicated that upon my death, this person would receive this and that person would receive that,” he said.
“On a more emotional level, though, I was convinced I would live indefinitely. I contested it. It meant expressing my will before indulging in a lovely piece of strudel. Death had no meaning for me.”
William Shatner had also been taking testosterone supplements and he wondered if that may have contributed to the cancer.
“I wondered whether I should discontinue taking the supplements.” “Yeah,” he said, “that would be a terrific idea.”
According to research, men over the age of 55 are more likely to get prostate cancer. Another study showed that high testosterone levels were not associated with an increased prostate cancer risk, but that is still up for debate.
According to one study, low levels of testosterone can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. High levels of testosterone do not reduce it.
Shatner said: “Three months later, I received another PSA test. It had dropped to one. One.”
Shatner feels that the higher PSA numbers were caused by the testosterone supplements he was taking.
“The body acquires cancer frequently and exterminates it, but that test’s sensitivity allowed it to identify even the slightest hint of it, which, combined with the PSA reading, made me fear I was near death. I was pleased to learn that I did not have cancer. I’ve returned to not dying. At the very least, immediately.”
It is not uncommon to get a false positive PSA test. Often, other tests, such as biopsies or an MRI are more reliable methods of screening for prostate cancer.
Were thankful that the diagnosis was overturned and we look forward to many more years of Shatner taking us where no man has gone before.