Public figures face a dilemma when diagnosed with cancer

Ben Stiller - The actor Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016, at age 48, and began to speak publicly about it two years later. He’s now an advocate for issues related to testing for the disease.

Richard Roundtree - Another actor, Richard Roundtree, was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early ’90s, when such news was commonly kept under wraps. He disclosed his diagnosis broadly five years later getting to five years cancer-free is often viewed as an important milestone — and now works to increase awareness about breast cancer in men.

Betsey Johnson - The clothing designer Betsey Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, and told no one but her daughter for an entire year, until she was through with treatment. “My biggest fear,” she told Bustle in 2017, “was that people were gonna think I was going to die.

Cynthia Nixon - The actor and political activist Cynthia Nixon kept her breast cancer diagnosis private during her treatment in 2006 “I didn’t want to make it public while I was going through it,” she told Nightline in 2008. “I didn’t want paparazzi at the hospital, that kind of thing

Melissa Etheridge - The musician Melissa Etheridge performed bald at the Grammys in 2005, while she was in chemo for breast cancer. “I’ve always been up-front,” she told Shape in 2009. “So I said, ‘Why should I hide my truth’ I had cancer. I had chemotherapy. I lost my hair. There’s no shame in that.”

Joan Lunden - The broadcast journalist Joan Lunden was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of 2014 — and posed bald for the cover of People magazine that fall. “I posed … because I know there are women out there who will actually say no to chemo because they’re so worried about losing their hair,” she told Today in 2017. “That astonishes me, because what’s the alternative”

Hugh Jackman - The actor Hugh Jackman shares photos on Twitter when he has moles removed at the dermatologist he’s had six instances of basal cell carcinoma and wants to remind people to wear sunscreen.

Michael C. Hall - Michael C. Hall did not immediately disclose his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis, which he received while he was filming season 4 of Dexter in 2009 — and told the Guardian in 2014 that he’d considered keeping it private indefinitely. But he ran into an issue that many in chemo do eyebrows

Kathy Bates - Kathy Bates’s experience reflects changes in the public approach to cancer. When she had ovarian cancer in 2003, the actor told ETOnline in 2017, “even my gynecologist, whose husband worked in the business, warned that I shouldn’t come out with it because of the stigma in Hollywood.

Wanda Sykes - The comedian Wanda Sykes expressed a specific hesitance — and her trademark humor — about announcing her 2011 diagnosis of breast cancer. “I was like, I don’t know, should I talk about it or what” she said on The Ellen Degeneres Show later that year.

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