It is easy to forget that celebrities are human just like the rest of us. But nothing serves as a more sobering reminder of that than learning about the health issues they battle.
Here are 16 celebrities who courageously face every day with health challenges.
Robin Roberts, Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)
In the summer 2007, Good Morning America anchor, Robin Roberts revealed she had breast cancer. She survived cancer but was later diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood disorder. Roberts underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2012 thanks to her sister who was a perfect match.
Last year, just before the anniversary of her transplant, Roberts told People magazine: “I’m really at peace now. I’m not as frightened. I feel 90 percent of myself again, and that’s a great feeling.”
Stuart Scott, Cancer
ESPN anchor Stuart Scott announced on Twitter last year that his cancer of the appendix has returned. Scott has been fighting cancer since 2007 and has had 58 infusions of chemotherapy. He recently switched to a pill, but the drugs have not fully arrested the cancer that returned four years later and again last year.
“I never ask what stage I’m in,” he said recently. “I haven’t wanted to know. It won’t change anything to me. All I know is that it would cause more worry and a higher degree of freak-out. Stage 1, 2 or 8, it doesn’t matter. I’m trying to fight it the best I can.”
