LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Golden Globe Award-nominated actor Richard Roundtree, who solidified his reputation by portraying the sophisticated and self-assured police investigator John Shaft in the 1971 movie, died on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. He was 81.
NBC News reports that Roundtree died from pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles residence. Roundtree's longtime manager Patrick McMinn stated the actor had been diagnosed two months earlier and confirmed his death, as reported by the New York Times.
Roundtree was the embodiment of manhood in the classic movie 'Shaft'. However, he had no issue connecting with women, particularly when it comes to breast cancer.
Richard Roundtree was a well-known survivor of breast cancer
As per The Daily Beast, Roundtree was diagnosed with male breast cancer in 1993, for which he had a double mastectomy and underwent six months of chemotherapy.
The late actor promoted awareness of male breast cancer through his work with the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Roundtree previously stated, "When I got the news, I was shocked. I thought, 'I couldn't possibly have breast cancer. Men don't get this.'"
The action hero kept his years-long struggle with breast cancer a secret until speaking out in public in the 1990s.
Roundtree discussed his illness in a 1999 interview with Dateline NBC, stating, "Breast cancer? Solely it was a totally a female thing."
He acknowledged to the outlet at the time that before his own struggle, he had never heard of male breast cancer.
Surgeons at the Motion Picture and Television Facility South of Los Angeles conducted a radical mastectomy on him within days after his diagnosis.
"It was scary. Knowing that I was going to lose part of my body. ... I walk around with a T-shirt on it and I can see that there’s no pectoral muscle there whatsoever. So I have an inkling of what a woman must feel like. It’s a part of your body; it’s gone," Roundtree said at the time.
Roundtree retorted, "There was no camera rolling here, baby," when the Dateline host said that he looked at him and saw that daring man from his movies.
No reason was found behind Richard Roundtree's breast cancer
The Susan G Komen Foundation at the time estimated that 400 males would die from breast cancer in 2001, while between 1,400 and 1,600 men would receive a diagnosis.
The risk to men is all too real, even if it is nothing compared to the over 40,000 American women who would die from the illness in 2001, according to reports.
As is the case with most incidences of male breast cancer, Roundtree's breast cancer was frustratingly unrelated to his previous health. He did not have Klinefelter syndrome, had no family history of the condition, and rarely drank.
Furthermore, Roundtree was considerably younger than the typical male breast cancer patient at 51. Typically, men are diagnosed with breast cancer in their late 60s, ten years after women.
It was by accident that Roundtree discovered his lump. "I'm a hypochondriac," the actor chuckled at the time, adding, "As soon as I felt the lump I immediately went to my doctor. I don't mess around that way."
Dr William Wood, an Emory School of Medicine professor and chairman of the surgery department, explained that ignorance and bravado are likely the main causes of the late detection of male breast cancer.
Richard Roundtree was lucky to have his cancer detected early
Men and women receive the same treatment for breast cancer. Treatment options for both include hormone therapy, radiation, chemotherapy, and surgeries such as mastectomy and lumpectomy.
However, there are differences between how men and women react to the common medication tamoxifen.
Wood explained, "About two-thirds of women with breast cancer are hormone receptive positive, whereas 95% of men are hormone receptor positive. This means that almost all men with breast cancer respond to tamoxifen, whereas about 1/3 of women don't."
Roundtree was fortunate to have his cancer detected early, and he had radiation, chemotherapy, and a mastectomy.
Roundtree claimed he lost a significant amount of weight due to terrible nausea and an inability to even look at food despite not experiencing hair loss as a result of the chemotherapy.
The actor, however, found it most difficult to inform anyone outside of his family about the illness. He claimed that to avoid being fired from the entertainment business, he had to conceal his condition from them.
Roundtree explained at the time, "No insurance company would insure me if they found out. And in order to work on a film, you need the stamp of approval from an insurance company. So unfortunately I had to keep it a secret."
Richard Roundtree became male breast cancer awareness advocate
Roundtree revealed he was a survivor at a celebrity golf benefit in South Carolina, around five years after entering into remission on a whim.
He spoke to ABC News about it in 2009, "The room was totally silent. I think it dawned on people that men can be affected by this, too."
Roundtree swiftly rose to prominence as an advocate for raising awareness of male breast cancer thereafter.
In 2007, he told CURE, "Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I wish I had had the courage to be open immediately."
Roundtree no longer kept his sickness a secret. He was extremely dedicated to serving as a spokesperson for the Komen Foundation and the Know Your Score men's healthcare effort, and he treasured his survival.
Roundtree, together with Ervin "Magic" Johnson, had been pushing African-American males to visit their physicians frequently.
