Hollywood icon Diane Keaton led a mostly private life, but prior to her passing, the actress was open about surviving skin cancer and overcoming an eating disorder that she battled throughout her life.
How Keaton Beat Her Cancer Diagnosis
PEOPLE confirmed that Keaton had sadly passed away at 79 in California on Saturday, October 11. The spokesperson told the magazine, “There are no further details available at this time, and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness.” Though her cause of death was not confirmed, Keaton had courageously spoken out about her previous health struggles with skin cancer and bulimia.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images“Itâs a family history,” Keaton said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times back in 2015. “I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it. Itâs tricky with this skin cancer. Thatâs why youâve got to put the sunblock on.â
âBack in my 20s I didnât pay attention much,â Keaton said in regards to taking care of her skin. âI didnât research and didnât really care and that was stupid because itâs dogged me my entire adult life, even recently. I didnât start sun care until my 40s.â
She also mentioned that her signature hats weren’t just for style, but they were also to protect her skin.
The Los Angeles Times also reported that after battling basal cell carcinoma, Keaton was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer decades later, which took two surgeries to remove.
How Keaton Courageously Navigated Lifelong Eating Disorder
As reported by E! News, Keaton also opened up about her battle with bulimia back in 2014 on an episode of “The Dr. Oz Show.” She told Dr. Oz, “All I did was feed my hunger, so I am an addict. It’s true. I’m an addict in recovery, I’ll always be an addict. I have an addictive nature to me.”
Alexandra Wyman/Getty ImagesThe actress admitted that she would eat 20,000 calories a day, only to throw up. âTypical dinner was a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, a couple TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake and three banana cream pies.â
Eventually, Keaton sought out recovery for her eating disorder. âSomebody mentioned that I seemed to have some mental issues, so I went to an analyst,” she said. “I would go five days a week.â
Keaton first discussed her eating disorder struggles in her first book, âThen Again,â in November 2011 and said she felt relieved to finally be able to talk about her problem publicly.
As reported on by NY Daily News back in 2014, Keaton wrote in her book, âI have nothing to hide. Itâs not relevant, but for me it feels good. I think Iâm a sister to all the rest of the women, and Iâm sure men as well, who have had some kind of eating disorder, and Iâm a part of the team.â
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