30+ Celebrities with Chronic Illnesses: Hidden Struggles

Erik Jensen- Colon Cancer

Erik Jensen, known for "The Walking Dead," "Mr. Robot," and "For Life," was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He miraculously escaped a life-threatening brain aneurysm a year and a half earlier. Jessica Blank, Jensen's playwright and actor girlfriend, revealed this devastating news on GoFundMe. Erik, a young and resilient director and writer, continues to write and direct despite liver cancer. His doctors want to decrease the tumors enough for two major procedures to remove them. Blank stated that “Erik is working incredibly hard to stay positive and fight for the shot that his doctors say he has.”

Shannen Doherty - Breast Cancer

Shannen's 2015 breast cancer diagnosis made news. In June 2023, Doherty posted on social media that her metastatic breast cancer had spread to her brain. She added, "That fear... The turmoil... The timing of it all... This is what cancer can look like," with a video of her crying during radiation treatment. Her illness was revealed in August 2015 when she sued her former business manager. She claimed the manager failed to pay her 2014 Screen Actors Guild health insurance premium, terminating her coverage. She couldn't get medical care until 2015 and missed her regular doctor's appointments. After her diagnosis, she was told she had "invasive breast cancer metastatic to at least one lymph node" and that it had spread during her 2014 uninsured year. She had a 2016 mastectomy.