The late legendary actress Diane Keaton opened up about her health challenges before her shocking death at age 79 over the weekend, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
While a cause of death has not yet been released for Keaton, who died unexpectedly on October 11, the actress discussed her cancer battle and eating disorder in an emotional and raw interview.
Keaton Battled Skin Cancer Twice
Keaton was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma at age 21.
When she was just 21 years old, the Something’s Gotta Give star was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
In 2015, Keaton reflected on her skin cancer battle and shared, “It’s a family history. 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.”
She then warned: “It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”
Despite her family history, the Oscar winner confessed she didn’t take care of her skin when she was younger.
The actress admitted she ‘didn’t pay attention much’ to her skin when she was young despite her family’s medical history.
She confessed: “Back in my 20s, I didn’t pay attention much. I didn’t research and didn’t really care, and that was stupid because it’s dogged me my entire adult life, even recently. I didn’t start sun care until my 40s.”
Decades after her initial basal cell carcinoma diagnosis, the First Wives Club actress received horrible news once again from her doctor when she was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer, another form of skin cancer.
The movie star underwent two surgeries to treat her second bout of cancer.
Keaton’s Eating Disorder
Keaton confessed her bulimia began when she had to lose weight for a Broadway role.
Shortly before she warned about the dangers of skin cancer by highlighting her own misfortune, Keaton opened up about her longtime battle with an eating disorder during an interview with Dr. Oz.
While chatting with the daytime talk show host, Keaton revealed she developed bulimia after being asked to lose 10 pounds for a Broadway role.
She admitted: “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.”
Keaton went on to share how she would gorge on a smorgasbord of dishes at the height of her bulimia “addiction.”
She confessed: “Typical 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.
“Somebody mentioned that I seemed to have some mental issues, so I went to an analyst. I would go five days a week.”
This wasn’t the first time Keaton openly discussed her eating disorder.
Keaton Says She Was ‘Living a Lie’
Keaton said she ‘had a problem’ and was ‘sick and creepy’ while battling bulimia.
In a separate interview, Keaton reportedly explained the desire to lose weight that triggered her bulimia was driven by “an overabundant need for more,” which led to her “living a lie.”
She said: I lost a lot of weight, and continued to keep my weight off for more than a year. I became a master at hiding.
“Hiding any evidence – how do you make sure no one knows? You live a lifestyle that is very strange. You’re living a lie.”
Keaton also noted her bulimia impacted her memories from Broadway, adding: “People were nice enough, but I felt like an outsider.
“I had a problem – it was sick and creepy. Bulimia takes a lot of time out of your day.”
