Richard Roundtree
The actor, 75, who’s often been called the first black action hero for his portrayal of the title lead character in the 1971 classic Shaft, was shocked to learn he had breast cancer in 1993, after finding a lump in his chest. He was successfully treated with a double mastectomy and chemo but waited another five years to go public with the news—which he did at a celebrity golf benefit for breast cancer services. “I just got up and told everybody that I was a breast cancer survivor,” he told ABC News. “The room was totally silent. I think it dawned on people that men can be affected by this too.” (The same article explained that male breast cancer makes up only 1 percent of all breast cancer cases. Men’s bodies have only about 1 percent of the breast tissue found in women.) He has since become an activist for awareness about male breast cancer and has appeared in the recent TV shows Being Mary Jane and Chicago Fire.
