When "The Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon learned that he had terminal colon cancer in 2013, he knew right away what he would do with the rest of his life: give away his fortune in support of good causes. In November 2014, Simon said he's still fighting his health battle and is actively giving back through the Sam Simon Foundation. 
Hugh Jackman underwent procedures in November 2013 and May and October 2014 to have basal cell carcinoma removed. His rep told People in October that the actor is "OK now." 
Fans of singer Morrissey knew that the star had been ill after he canceled some U.S. tour stops in June, but it appears he has been battling cancer. "They have scraped cancerous tissues four times already, but whatever," Morrissey said told Spanish-language outlet El Mundo. "I am aware that in some of my recent photos I look somewhat unhealthy, but that's what illness can do. I'm not going to worry about that." 
Diem Brown, one of the stars of MTV's "The Challenge," was diagnosed with cancer for the third time in August. Doctors recently discovered a tumor blocking her kidneys, People.com reported, slowing her recovery. However, she's stayed upbeat in the face of her struggle. 
When former "Good Morning America" host Joan Lunden learned that she was facing an "aggressive" form of breast cancer, she was determined to face her health battle head-on. Knowing she would need chemotherapy, Lunden decided to remove her familiar blond hair before her locks could be affected by the treatment. "You know it's going to happen one of these days and you are wondering how or when," Lunden explained to People magazine, which she posed for without her wig in September. "So I just owned it." 
Hugh Jackman took to Instagram on May 8 to share a photo of his nose, which was bandaged because of treatment he had on basal cell carcinoma. 
Former "Dancing With the Stars" co-host Samantha Harris has breast cancer and will undergo a double mastectomy, according to People. Harris says she detected a lump during a self-exam and then followed up with a specialist after receiving a clean mammogram, the magazine reported. 
Actress Brittany Daniel of "Sweet Valley High" and "The Game" has been quietly dealing with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Daniel recalls in an issue of People magazine that her 2011 diagnosis "happened so suddenly," but she's been able to face it with the support of her family. 
Famed journalist Tom Brokaw revealed in February that he's been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer which affects blood cells in the bone marrow. 
Getting a mammogram live on "Good Morning America" for cancer awareness month revealed to ABC's Amy Robach that she had breast cancer in November. 
Radio personality Robin Quivers quietly battled cancer for months, but she had happy news to share with "Howard Stern" listeners in September 2013. On the show, Quivers revealed that her doctors now believe she's cancer-free after receiving treatment, including chemotherapy. 
Singer Melissa Etheridge became an advocate for the use of medical marijuana after her 2004 breast cancer diagnosis. 
Sharon Jones held off plans to tour and release a new album with the Dap-Kings after being diagnosed with stage 1 bile duct cancer in 2013. 
Michael Douglas offered some interesting insight as to how he may have developed the throat cancer that he was diagnosed with in August 2010. Douglas later told the "Today" show that his tumor was gone. 
Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly has been diagnosed with cancer of the upper jaw bone. "Doctors have told me that the prognosis for my recovery is very good," Kelly said in a statement from his former club. Indeed, in August, Kelly was told that he was cancer-free. 
Actress Christina Applegate had a bilateral mastectomy in 2008. Doctors had diagnosed her with cancer in her left breast and offered her the options of either radiation treatment and testing for the rest of her life or removal of both breasts. 
In 2006, singer Sheryl Crow underwent minimally invasive surgery for breast cancer. In 2012, she revealed she had a noncancerous brain tumor. 
KISS band member Peter Criss sat down with CNN's Elizabeth Cohen in 2009, a year after his battle with breast cancer. The musician said he wanted to increase awareness of the fact that men can also get the disease. 
Cynthia Nixon not only joined the cast of Showtime's "The Big C," about a woman battling the disease, and portrayed a woman with cancer in the Broadway play "Wit" -- Nixon was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. 
Zoraida Sambolin was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2013, and she chose to have a double mastectomy. Sambolin said that Angelina Jolie's New York Times opinion piece about undergoing the procedure gave her courage to share her story. 
"Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts had been cancer-free for five years in 2012 after beating breast cancer when she revealed she had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, also called MDS. 
"Three's Company" star Suzanne Somers spoke with CNN's Piers Morgan in 2012 about her stem cell surgery and her bout with breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2001, which is when she began researching alternative methods to reconstructive surgery. 
Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed in 1992, and the singer has become an advocate for breast self-examination. 
E! co-host Giuliana Rancic underwent a double mastectomy in 2011 after a breast cancer diagnosis. 
Actress Kathy Bates didn't share news of her battle until 2012, eight years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 
Australian singer Kylie Minogue was only 36 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. 
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- "The Simpsons" co-creator was told he had three to six months to live
- Now, he's still fighting and devoted to giving back
- Simon: Cancer has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life
(CNN) -- "The Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon is facing terminal illness the best way he knows how: with a sense of humor and a generous heart.
It was two years ago that Simon, 59, was told that he had colon cancer and had just three to six months to live.
"They showed me my scans and said, these are the scans of a dead man," Simon recalled in an interview with NBC's Maria Shriver. "I said, 'Is it curable?' And the doctor goes, 'We don't use that word.' "
Though his doctor couldn't cure him, he could work to keep Simon alive. "And he's done a remarkable job of it," Simon said. "I feel great. I've never been happier."
Some of that happiness comes from being "surrounded by people that love me and take care of me and would do anything for me," Simon said. "That's called happiness."
But part of his peace comes from his philanthropy. When Simon learned of his diagnosis, he made a promise to give away his fortune.
He never did say how much he's made over his many years in Hollywood, working on "The Simpsons" in addition to hits like "Taxi" and "Cheers." But what is clear is that however much he has, he wants it to go toward animal welfare and to feed the hungry.
"Ingrid Newkirk, who is the founder of PETA and one of the most influential people in my life ... she came up with an almost therapy for me, where we planned and are still planning a series of animal liberations and actions that I get to participate in and enjoy and have something to look forward to at the same time," Simon said.
There's also his philanthropic organization, the Sam Simon Foundation, which aids animals and has a "feeding families program that feeds 400 families a day in Los Angeles."
His passion for these causes comes from a responsibility he feels, Simon explained, "to speak for those who can't speak for themselves."
Simon was honest about how difficult his diagnosis has been -- "cancer is a horrible disease, (and) I am struggling with it," he told Shriver -- but he added that it's also been a lesson.
"It has been a fight; it's been an adventure; it's been an education," Simon said. "It's been the most amazing experience of my life."
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