Taye Diggs is turning the pain of losing both parents into a mission for public health. The 55-year-old actor, widely known for his roles in “The Best Man” and “Rent,” recently spoke out about the personal toll cancer has taken on his family and why he is now a firm advocate for early detection.
Diggs lost his stepfather, Jeffries Diggs, to colon cancer in 2004, and his mother, Marcia Berry, passed away in 2019 shortly after receiving a shock diagnosis.
“When something bad happens, and you realize that it can be avoided when people don’t take advantage of it, that annoys me,” Diggs explained to People. “Take my situation. Both my parents passed, both of them.”
The loss of his mother was particularly sudden. Diggs recalled that she initially kept her symptoms to herself, acting as a “trooper” until her condition became undeniable. By the time he took her to the hospital, the news was devastating.
“She’s got cancer. She doesn’t have much [time]. And then boom, she was gone,” he shared. This experience has led him to partner with Cancerguard, a multi-cancer detection test designed to identify signals for over 50 types of cancer through a simple blood draw. Looking back, Diggs believes such technology could have changed his family’s story. “I had no idea that anything like this even existed,” he admitted. “If they had, I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in today.”
Now, Diggs is using his platform to urge others to stop making excuses for avoiding the doctor. He emphasizes that the “mystery” and fear surrounding cancer can be mitigated by staying ahead of the disease with modern medical tools.
“So now that we know we have amazing tools like this through Exact Sciences, there’s no excuse for people to just not go out and just get the test,” he said. He maintains that while some people may get lucky with late discoveries, the goal should be to remove the gamble entirely and seek the “peace of mind” that comes with proactive testing.
The actor’s commitment to his health is also fueled by his 16-year-old son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs. Diggs, who shares Walker with ex-wife Idina Menzel, says he is “hyper-hyper aware” of his physical well-being because he wants to be there for his son as long as possible. Interestingly, the teenager has already adopted this vigilant mindset, often reminding his father to seek medical advice at the first sign of a cold. By speaking openly about his parents’ battles, Diggs hopes to normalize the conversation around early screening and ensure more families have the time together that he was denied.
