Actor Colin Egglesfield Shares Powerful Message After 3 Cancer Battles

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Colin Egglesfield, best known for his roles on “Melrose Place,” “Something Borrowed,” and “All My Children,” is gearing up to take part in the NYC Marathon this weekend. His mission, to bring more attention and support to a cause close to his heart – Cancer Support Community, or CSC. 

Colin, a three-time cancer survivor, is giving back to the organization he said helped him to feel less alone as he dealt with his terrifying diagnosis. 

The actor recently sat down with The Blast exclusively to talk about what it means for him personally to run 26.2 miles in support of the organization, reveal who he will be thinking about as he crosses the finish line, what projects he’s currently working on, and more. 

Three-Time Cancer Survivor Colin Egglesfield Is Running In The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon

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While it’s not his first marathon, this one has a bit of a different feeling behind it. On November 1, Colin will be running in the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon as part of the Cancer Support Community United team. Before chatting with The Blast exclusively, Colin’s representative sent us this statement: “I’m running the New York City Marathon to support Cancer Support Community because I’m eternally grateful for all the support I received during my three cancer battles and this is my way to give back and let others who are in their battle know that they are not alone and that there is hope beyond measure for what is possible.” 

Colin told The Blast that this will be his seventh marathon, with the first one being in 1999 or 2000. When asked what got him into running marathons, he simply said, “I’m just crazy and I wanted to do something.”

“Running is one of the things I love to do. It’s kind of like my meditation, my way to relax, and just whenever I feel like I need just to break away to get away, I love being outside and running helps me gain my sanity again,” he told The Blast. He credits his sister for getting him started in running. 

When The Opportunity Came Up With Cancer Support Community, Colin Immediately Said Yes

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After his first few marathons, he decided to get involved with some charities. He told The Blast that he ran the Chicago Marathon three times, raising money for St. Jude Leukemia Lymphoma Society. 

“I’ve also done the Los Angeles Marathon and the New York Marathon one other time. And so when this opportunity came up with the Cancer Support Community, where they asked me if I’d be interested in being a part of what they’re doing to help raise awareness and raise some funding for the amazing, work that they do, as a three-time cancer survivor, I’m always open to supporting groups that support people because I know what it’s like to be on that side of it, feeling afraid and scared and not sure about the outcome,” he said.

“There’s the medical side of a cancer journey and then there’s the emotional and mental part of it, and the great work that Cancer Support Community does is they offer support groups and all kinds of different support in terms of health and wellness programs and support for the families, in addition to people who are going through the cancer experience. So this is just my way to give back and support groups like this because it’s not an easy thing to go through a scary health journey like a cancer diagnosis.” 

This marathon’s training brought on some challenges for Colin, but he pushed through them all. He said it gets “harder the older I get” but the most challenging part has been his schedule and keeping his running up despite long set days.

“I just wrapped a film that I was shooting just north of Pittsburgh and so juggling my shooting schedule and getting my runs in, because you’ve got to be running like five times a week and being on set for 10 or 12 hours a day, the last thing you want to do is put your running shoes on,” he told The Blast. “But knowing that when you’ve got such a great cause to be able to do it, it just makes it easier to say, you know what, you’re doing this for a good purpose and a good reason.” 

When he crosses the finish line, he will have some important people on his mind.

“I lost both my parents to cancer, and I feel like I’m running this for a lot of reasons,” he said. “So I think crossing the finish line, I’m just going to look up and say thanks mom and dad for everything they did to support me in life, and just being grateful for what they provided for me to be able to do what I love to do.”

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Colin Egglesfield Shares More About His Cancer Journey

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Colin said his first cancer diagnosis was the “scariest” one. He shared some insight into how he found out. 

“The first one was the scariest because the first time a doctor says you have cancer, it’s like, what does that mean?” he told The Blast. “I almost waited too long because I had testicular cancer diagnosed in 2006 when I was working on ‘All My Children’ and I was just kind of ignorant.” 

He said he saw “some swelling down there” but figured it would just go away, but it didn’t. So after his brother urged him to see a doctor, Colin finally made an appointment. He went on a Wednesday and had blood work and an ultrasound done.

“On Friday, I was working on ‘All My Children’ and came down to my dressing room and picked up my phone and I had a voicemail from my doctor. I called him back and he said, ‘I need to see you in my office right away,’” he shared. “He said, ‘You have advanced stage testicular cancer. I’m scheduling you for surgery on Monday. This needs to come out now.’”

After the biopsy, he found out that the cancer had begun to spread. Colin had to do radiation after surgery and have regular checkups. A year after his surgery, they found a tumor on the other side. After another surgery and radiation, he was diagnosed a third time, but this time it was prostate cancer. 

“It wasn’t easy to hear, but at the same time, I was like, I feel like having gone through this before, your brain can go into all these scary places and I just focused on what I need to do in order to be able to make sure I’m giving myself the best chance of long-term survival,” Colin said. “And with prostate cancer, they say if it’s detected early enough, your chances of survival are like 97 or 98 percent and you’ve got about a five-year window before you need to do something.” 

He ultimately decided to have a prostatectomy. 

The Many Roles Colin Is Known For

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When asked if any of his previous roles hold a special place in his heart, he named a few.

“I would say ‘All My Children,’ because I was on the show for three years and it was a big part of my life. That became my family for a good three years and made so many great friends from that,” he told The Blast. “And then also ‘Something Borrowed’ that I did with Kate Hudson. That was probably one of my favorite projects to work on. Just filming in New York City and doing such an amazing project with the likes of these incredible actors, that experience was amazing.”

Just recently, Colin finished shooting a film about the Trump assasination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The movie is based on a book that was written by a reporter.

“We just wrapped that like two weeks ago and I’m really proud of it because it tells the story of the day of the rally, and whether you are a Trump supporter or not, the movie is about looking at both sides,” he said. “And hopefully this is an opportunity for people to see that at the end of the day, whatever your beliefs are, there’s more similarities that I think people have between us rather than the things that divide us.” 

When it comes to choosing his next gig, Colin has been getting more into producing alongside of acting.

“I’ve started to get into the world of producing. I’ve produced my second project that came out on the Lifetime Movie Network in August Called ‘The Caretaker Next Door,’ where I play a bank robber who falls in love with the prosecuting attorney,” he shared. “What I like about producing is you’re in control. You don’t have to go in and audition and wait for someone to choose you for their project.”

He’s about to begin shooting the third film that he’s producing – an action thriller set in India. 

Colin Egglesfield’s Books And Fundraiser

In addition to acting and producing, Colin has written a few books. In his book, “Agile Artist: Life Lessons from Hollywood and Beyond,” there’s a chapter that shares his cancer journey.

“All the things I would have loved a best friend to have shared with me to help me navigate some of the challenges that I’ve overcome in life,” he shared. “I created an app that is based on the book that essentially is a daily planner that has an AI coach in it that helps you be able to set a 90 day goal. Every day, it gives you encouragement and insight and reminders just for who you decided to be every day, because you can’t always control what happens to you in your life.” 

He said the app is designed to help you stay “positive and focused on the things that you can control and the impact that you want to make in life.” 

Colin is also actively fundraising for CSC. 

“You can go to cancersupportcommunity.org and to the link in my Instagram bio,” he said. “My goal is to raise $10,000 for CSC and we’re close. I think we’re just shy of $8,000 at this point.”