William Shatner, 95, and his 61-year-old daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch have revealed that they were both battling Stage 4 cancer at the same time several years ago. The disclosure, made this week, sheds light on a difficult private chapter for the Star Trek actor and his family, who kept their overlapping health struggles largely out of the public eye while dealing with the illness together.

Melanie first discovered her cancer four years ago after noticing a small lump on her breast, which she initially mistook for a bug bite. She told People magazine she chose to get it checked out despite initial hesitation, a decision that led to her diagnosis; further details of her father's simultaneous illness and their joint recovery were shared as part of the same interview.