A year later, the 95-year-old actor learned he had Stage 4 melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain.<\/p>\n
Melanie said she underwent multiple rounds of chemo with HER2-targeted therapies, a double mastectomy and 30 radiation therapy treatments over the year and a half after her diagnosis.<\/p>\n
But Melanie admitted she was more concerned with William\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember vividly thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,\u201d she told the outlet.<\/p>\n
William explained that when Melanie was close to finishing her treatment, he noticed a lump on his cheek that turned out to be a growing tumour.<\/p>\n
The Star Trek icon had surgery to remove the tumour and then underwent two years of immunotherapy to target the cancer in his lungs and brain. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer,\u201d William shared.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Melanie, who has two children with husband Joel Gretsch, said her dad \u201cwouldn\u2019t stop his life\u201d and \u2018kept working and moving forward\u201d during his cancer battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever he was home, Joel and I would bring dinner to him and watch movies, just always made sure that he\u2019s not alone,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
Melanie also revealed William helped ease her concerns about the cost of her cancer treatments.<\/p>\n
She recalled her dad telling her, \u201cI do not want you to worry. Just send me the bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you made me laugh so hard when I was still going to the doctor a year later,\u201d Melanie remembered. \u201cYou said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to get well. We\u2019re going to be in the poorhouse!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
William and Melanie are now launching a new podcast calledNo Time but Now<\/a>where they\u2019ll interview health experts and other cancer survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy for us in this lovely home to say, \u2018Make your life meaningful.\u2019 It\u2019s much more difficult to be poverty-stricken and wonder how you\u2019re going to get through it. I\u2019ve been there,\u201d William told People. \u201cBut it\u2019s also possible to endure that and be aware of the beauty around you.\u201d<\/p>\n Melanie said, \u201c[Overcoming cancer] changed my life. I\u2019m not so afraid anymore, and there\u2019s so much freedom and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n William, who first revealed his cancer diagnosis in 2023, admitted he\u2019s become \u201cfearful\u201d of death in an interview with TV Insider<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always asking questions, because the older I get, the more fearful I will be to die with a question on my mind, like, \u201cWhat about\u2026,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the meaning of life?! Damn; the meaning of life is \u2014 and boom! I\u2019m dead!\u201d he quipped. \u201cIt\u2019s the fear of not knowing what you could have learned. I get excited by comprehending and apprehending information.\u201d<\/p>\n