“The Walking Dead”’s Erik Jensen Diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer

The 53-year-old actor was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer less than two years after surviving a brain aneurysm, his family said

The Walking Dead alum Erik Jensen was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

The 53-year-old’s family shared that the actor learned of his diagnosis just a year and a half after surviving a brain aneurysm.

“The cancer has metastasized to his liver, but Erik is young and strong (cutting a film during chemo, working full-time as a director and writer throughout) and his doctors think they have a shot at shrinking the tumors enough to do two very major surgeries and get them all out,” his family wrote on GoFundMe.

“He can make it through this. But Erik and his family are in for the fight of their lives, and they need your support,” they added.

On the GoFundMe post — which has already raised over $91,000 — Jensen’s family asked for financial assistance as he undergoes chemotherapy while trying to “maintain some sort of stability” for his 13-year-old daughter Sadie, whom he shares with wife Jessica Blank.

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Related: Chadwick Boseman Was 43 When He Died of Colon Cancer — and Cases in Young Adults Are Rising

Colon, or colorectal, cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, after lung and breast cancers.

The American Cancer Society recommends that adults aged 45 and up get regular colon cancer screenings, either stool analyses or colonoscopies. And they urge people with symptoms of colon cancer — such as a change in bowel movements, including increased diarrhea, rectal bleeding, dark stools, unexpected weight loss, cramping and excess fatigue — to get checked out by a doctor.

They emphasize the need for preemptive screenings, as these symptoms typically only appear after colon cancer has already spread.

Following the news of Jensen’s diagnosis, The Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple urged fans to support his health journey by donating.

“One of TWD’s own could use a little help,” Gimple wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Erik Jensen, who played Dr. Steven Edwards in S5 was just diagnosed with cancer, and it’s a time of great uncertainty for him and his family. If you want to send something his way.”

Although the diagnosis is “scary,” Jensen’s family said, “Stage IV is not a death sentence, and Erik is working incredibly hard to stay positive and fight for the shot that his doctors say he has.”

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