Mandy Patinkin
In 2004, seven years before TV audiences would come to know the Yentl and Princess Bride star as Saul Berenson on Homeland, Patinkin was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 51—nearly the same age his father was when he died of pancreatic cancer, according to Everyday Health. He underwent a prostatectomy. “Aside from my wife and children, cancer was the greatest gift I was ever given,” he told Coping with Cancer, because it taught him to appreciate life more and savor each moment as precious. He celebrated his first year of recovery in 2005 with a 265-mile charity bike ride alongside his son Isaac.
