Taye Diggs recently emphasized the importance of early cancer detection after losing his mother and stepfather to cancer.
For those who don’t know, 55-year-old American actor and singer stepfather, Jeffries Diggs, succumbed to colon cancer in 2004, while his mother, Marcia Berry, passed away in 2019 shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.
Chat with PEOPLE magazine, Taye said that “unfortunately both my parents passed away a little earlier than expected from various forms of cancer.”
“When something bad happens and you realize that it can be avoided if people don’t take advantage of it, that irritates me. Take my situation. Both my parents are dead, both of them,” he warned.
During a conversation with choreographer Mandy Moore in 2024, the All American star revealed that his mother Marcia, an artist, professor and doctoral candidate at Missouri University, “didn’t tell anyone” about her diagnosis at first.
“She felt weird, but she’s a soldier. It got so hard that we took her to the hospital, and then they said, ‘Okay, she has cancer. She doesn’t have much.’ [time].’ And then, boom, she was gone,” Taye said.
After losing both his parents, The best man alum has partnered with Cancerguard, a blood-based multi-cancer detection test for adults. The test reveals unusual protein markers, prompting people to investigate further.
Notably, Cancerguard will not replace cancer screenings; it will only help.
He joked, “I had no idea something like that even existed. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today.’
“So now that we know we have great tools like this through Exact Sciences, there’s no excuse for people not to just take the test,” Taye said.
