Heavy/Getty Actor and game show host Cameron Mathison
Four and a half years after Hallmark alum Cameron Mathison was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the actor and new game show host says he’s “feeling so great” as he stays on top of his health, from working out to getting regular scans and bloodwork.
Mathison, 54, told ET Online on June 12, 2024, that if there’s anything he’s learned from his cancer journey, which required surgery to remove the cancer and a portion of his right kidney, it’s to be his own health advocate and to keep persisting when things don’t feel quite right.
Insisting that his doctors look further into worrisome symptoms likely saved his life, he told the outlet.
“For two years, I insisted on this MRI, and eventually, they said, ‘Maybe we should get one,'” Mathison explained to ET, recalling how he kept asking about symptoms and test scores that worried him. “My blood work was a little off, not substantially, but I could feel it. I knew something was off.”
Cameron Mathison Says He Continues to Be Monitored Through Scans & Bloodwork
Getty“General Hospital” actress Katelyn MacMullen and Cameron Mathison in May 2024.
Mathison announced his diagnosis in 2019 on Hallmark’s now-defunct “Home & Family” talk show, which he co-hosted with Debbie Matenopoulos until 2021. He explained at the time that he asked his doctor for an MRI of his abdomen due to ongoing symptoms they couldn’t figure out. The scan detected a tumor on his right kidney consistent with renal cell carcinoma, he told the audience.
The longtime “General Hospital” star underwent minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor, leaving him with 80% of his right kidney, he told “Good Morning America,” adding that the pathology report showed it was “the least aggressive form of kidney cancer … (with a) very low rate of recurring.”
“Obviously, once you get cancer, it’s not great,” he told ET in June 2024. “It’s not a great prognosis after that. So all we can do is get ahead of it and and I try to do that and stay positive.”
Though Mathison always considered himself to be healthy, his cancer diagnosis kicked his fitness efforts and nutrition into high gear.
The actor told ET, “I took health seriously [before], and I thought, ‘I know a lot!’ And I think I did, from one perspective, for sure. But what saved my life … was paying attention to my body.
“You know that I work really hard at this and I take it real serious, as far as this transformation and rebounding from the cancer journey, specifically,” he continued. “But also (in terms of) longevity and continuing to do blood work and gut tests and hormone tests and then doing my MRIs and CT scans. And I keep on it the best I can.”
In January, Mathison told ET that he got a clean bill of health at his annual oncology check-up, telling the outlet, “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. I’ve got more energy than I’ve ever been. I worked really hard at it.”
Cameron Mathison Has Made Big Career Changes Over the Past Year
In addition to prioritizing his health, Mathison has also been laser-focused on his career, announcing multiple headline-making changes over the last year.
After many years as one of Hallmark’s featured stars, the actor shocked many fans in November by signing a multi-picture deal with Great American Family, the network started by former Hallmark Media CEO Bill Abbott in 2021. Other Hallmark stars who have jumped ship for the new network include Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKeller and Jen Lilley.
In a statement, Mathison said, “It is very important to me to create well-crafted, beautiful stories. I am grateful to be back at Great American Media and to collaborate with some of the best creative teams in entertainment to make heartwarming content everyone can enjoy.”
In February, Hallmark announced that Mathison would be replaced by another fan-favorite, Victor Webster, in the “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” alongside longtime star Alison Sweeney. Webster made his debut in the franchise on April 5 in “One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery.”
Mathison has not yet starred in a new movie on Great American Family, but told Headliner Chicago on June 14 that he’s going to be filming a holiday movie in late August with “an amazing queen of Christmas, I can’t say who yet — it hasn’t been announced, but it’s gonna be a big deal.”
The actor has a full plate, starring as Drew Cain on “General Hospital” since 2021, per IMDb, and he’s also the host of a new game show, “Beat the Bridge,” which launched on Game Show Network on June 10.
Mathison told Headliner Chicago that the show, which airs every weeknight at 6 p.m. Eastern time, is “upbeat, it’s fun, you’re learning a lot, it’s exciting, there’s laughs, there’s jokes, there’s drama, there’s heartbreak. … It’s a nice escape from reality sometimes, in a positive way.”