William Shatner Gets Candid About His ‘Really Scary’ Health Ordeal

William Shatner is opening up about a serious health issue that he previously faced. During an interview with CBC Radio Q, Shatner spoke about a previous prostate cancer scare, per Express. The actor also got real about the health issues that he’s been dealing with since turning 91 years old. 

Shatner previously reflected on being given a prostate cancer diagnosis. While the diagnosis later proved to be false, he still explained that receiving that news initially felt like a “death sentence.” The actor, who opened up about the situation for NBC, said that he originally received the diagnosis after having taken testosterone supplements. During a check-up, his doctors determined that his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels were at 10. He noted that the normal levels should be closer to 1 or 2. 

“That was really scary,” Shatner said about initially receiving such a serious diagnosis. “I was told by a doctor I had a terminal disease. That I was going to die.” He continued, “I had been taking testosterone supplements and suddenly it was a 10 and I thought ‘that’s the end of the world!’ I gulped as I have been so lucky and fortunate in terms of health, but suddenly my luck had turned.”

Shatner’s doctor told him that prostate cancer can be aggressive and, at the same time, so benign that another health issue could affect you long before you even receive a diagnosis. Understandably, the Star Trek actor was taken aback by the situation. While he could understand what was happening on an “intellectual level,” it was a different matter when it came to his emotions. 

“But on an emotional level, I was certain I was never going to die. I denied it. To me, it was to make out my will, then have a nice piece of strudel. Death didn’t apply to me,” Shatner went on to say. “My initial reactions to the diagnosis were, I suppose, quite common: denial, fear, anger — as well as a dose of being insulted. I am in my eighties; I have lived a long life, but I certainly wasn’t ready for it to end.” Luckily, and as previously mentioned, Shatner shared that his diagnosis turned out to be false. Even though he had to go through this scare, he did say that it made him develop a new, positive outlook on life