‘All My Children’ Actor Colin Egglesfield Talks Beating Cancer For Third Time & If He’d Return to Soaps

Scott Fishman March 11, 2025, 8:34 am

If anyone can know how life can change in an instant, it’s Colin Egglesfield. The actor known for roles on All My Children, The Client List, Something Borrowed, and Rizzoli & Isles revealed during a January Instagram post that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This was the third time the 52-year-old had gotten this kind of bad news. Egglesfield previously overcame two bouts of testicular cancer starting in 2006.

In the same post, Egglesfield thanked the medical team at City of Hope Cancer Center Phoenix for their support and care as they were able to catch it early. He was proactive and had surgery. During a February 24 post, Egglesfield once again revealed to be cancer-free. He celebrated in March alongside Dr. Alan Bryce from the hospital during a spring training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Dr. Bryce threw out the first pitch while Egglesfield was invited to the field for a symbolic “Home Run For Life,” honoring his cancer journey and those who supported him.

Here Egglesfield opens up about his near 20-year cancer journey, how the All My Children cast and crew supported him and if he’d step back into the soap world again.

How would you say you processed the initial cancer diagnosis compared to the other two times?

Colin Egglesfield: I feel like the first two times mentally prepared me for what it takes to stay positive and resilient through all of this. The first time around I think what really helped me was just having to do some inner work in realizing whatever happens to me physically in my body, that’s a lot of stuff we can’t control a lot of times. What we can control are our thoughts and what we can focus on. If we focus on the negative and the statistics that you may be in a certain category, I realized that doesn’t do anyone any good. I realize that the more you focus on what you can control and what gives you hope and encouragement and constantly write out what you are grateful for every day. It really helps you wake up each day as a blessing knowing nothing in life is guaranteed.

Colin Egglesfield

There is so much pressure as an actor to look a certain way, feel a certain way and be perfect as a celebrity. You chose to make your cancer fights public throughout. Do you think that helped you in a sense?

I’m glad you brought that up. With being in the public eye on TV and film, I’m still a normal person. I think sometimes people forget people who happen to be on TV and film are just doing what they love to do. They are pursuing their passion, but they are not that different from anyone else. We have our fears, doubts, insecurities. That first time I was diagnosed with cancer I was working on All My Children. I didn’t tell anyone because I was afraid of what people might think. I was afraid I would get let go.

I didn’t know what would come of it. I didn’t tell anyone, I was going through this experience feeling alone. I felt scared. I felt like when people saw me at work they were like, “Hey Colin, how are you doing? You want to go to this thing this weekend.” I felt like I had to pretend everything was okay. It got exhausting. Then after doing three weeks of radiation treatment I couldn’t hide it anymore. I didn’t feel good. I looked like crap and didn’t want my director and producers. I was out all night partying and hung over. My director came up to me after one of my scenes and said, “You don’t look so good.”

It must have been hard to come clean at that moment.

I was sweaty and feeling nauseous because I had gotten radiation treatment that morning. I finally just broke down. I told him I was going through a cancer battle and had my radiation treatment. He asked me why I didn’t tell anyone as if I was the craziest person on the planet. Like why didn’t I tell them because I was family. I realized the more you can share your vulnerability and be honest where you’re at, it helped me in not only my mental well-being and knowing I wasn’t alone in this experience. A lot of the other actors on the show and producers on the show even offered to take me to the hospital appointments and checkups.

It felt really good to know people were there for me when I needed them the most. People want to create friendships and connections. I think the hardest part of this, being a man too, is admitting when you need help and are vulnerable and scared. That’s something I had to learn to let go of. That’s why this time around it’s more important for me to just be open and honest about it because I know others are going through other experiences. The outpouring of support I’ve felt on social media and stories of other people who are going through the same thing. I think it has been very empowering, not just myself. You don’t have to go through this alone. To show there are people who are or have gone through this and are wanting to support you.

Colin Egglesfield

Who was your support system?

I would say my parents have been the most supportive through all of this. They’ve always been the most encouraging, the most realistic. They’ve always been very kind and honest about this. Not saying everything will be okay, but more that, “We’re here for you no matter what.” That I wasn’t going through this alone. They told me I had to focus on things that would get me healthy. They would encourage being strong, mindful and not focus on the negative. Not looking at myself as a victim. It’s very easy to feel sorry for yourself, be angry at the world. That doesn’t do anyone any good. My parents instilled in me the importance of waking up doing what you need to do and focusing on the positive and being there for each other.

All My Children’s Colin Egglesfield, Susan Lucci and Eden Riegel attend “ABC Daytime salutes Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS” after-party in 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

The first diagnosis came almost 20 years ago, just a few months after you were named one of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive.” What do you remember about that time?

I was in denial when the doctor told me I had cancer. I just got on All My Children. I got hired in August. My episodes started airing in September. I was named after what you said in October. It was in December I noticed something wasn’t going on down there the way it should be. One of my testicles was swollen. I thought, “That will go away. I don’t need to worry about this. I’m a TV show and have more important things to worry about.” Then it was my brother who encouraged me to see my doctor. It was found I had advanced stage testicular cancer and it spread.

I’m very lucky I’m here today. That’s one of the reasons I’m so open about this is if you wait too long and think it will go away, it may be too late for you. It was almost too late for me. They did the surgery and found out the cancer has spread through the veins and arteries that lead to your kidneys. I was very fortunate the radiation treatment zapped it all. That’s why I’m a big proponent of getting early checkups and early detection. That saved my life these second two go-rounds.

How was it working when you’re going through all this treatment, especially a soap opera when it’s so demanding?

I relied on my acting training to help me get through this. As an actor, you focus on what character you need to create to be able to fulfill the role you are playing. I just took this role of being cancer-free. Gladiator is one of my favorite movies, so I just took on the persona of Maximus. I would stand in front of the hospital every month for my checkups after my second diagnosis. Every time before I would get poked and prodded and lit up with radiation, I would stand in front of the hospital and pretend to be Maximus preparing in the Roman Coliseum.

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You have to focus on things that will keep you empowered. A lot of it was mindset. Working helped because I was able to show up and play this other character and not have to think about my next treatments and hospital appointments. To show up and escape into this world of Pine Valley and play Josh Madden and just dive into it fully committing to my role at work. Just also having all the crew and producers every day you walk into the hair and makeup, these amazing people are there to make sure you are taken care of. Having the support system of a team of people to get me through it was empowering.

Thinking of All My Children, would you want to go back to soaps?

Absolutely.

If you did come back to this world, what do you see for yourself? Would you want a story arc to be art imitating life with what you’ve gone through with cancer?

Yeah, I’d definitely be open to that. I think soap opera is incredibly fun because it’s almost like summer camp. You’re all jumping into this world of high drama. I think the storylines are heightened, so it is fun to play these characters and push the boundaries of relationships. I think playing a character going through some sort of health journey is something I’d absolutely entertain.