Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross Shares Her Health Advice After Surviving Anal Cancer

Marcia Cross is offering words of wisdom. 

Six years after sharing she was diagnosed with anal cancer, the Desperate Housewives alum explained how she's continuing to prioritize her health in more ways than one, starting with daily sunscreen and sun protection.

"I just have to do that—I don't want skin cancer," Cross exclusively told E! News at the 2024 Daytime Beauty Awards on Sept. 30. "That just has to be for every person on the planet now. It's kind of a no-brainer. Protect your skin."

But it's not the only lesson she's decided to pass on since opening up about her cancer battle in 2018: She's also emphasizing the importance of regular checkups.

"It's so hard, but you just have to keep up with all your appointments," Cross continued. "It's hard to stay on top of all that, but you know, it's lifesaving."

In Cross' case, her gynecologist found a cancerous mass during a routine digital rectal exam in 2017.

"I was so not thinking anything was wrong because I didn't have any symptoms," she later told CBS This Morning. "[My doctor] gave me an exam and she came around and said, 'Well, I just want you to know whatever it is, it's curable.'"

The Everwood actress underwent 28 radiation appointments—with chemotherapy in the first and fifth weeks—before sharing that she was "post cancer" in September 2018.

"All good now. Hard journey, but I am HEALTHY, happy and more present and grateful than ever," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "Thank you from the bottom of my ever expanding heart for all of your LOVE."

In fact, discussing her journey publicly helped her heal even more, as she noted that posting a photo about her hair loss made her feel "liberated, deliriously free and completely me."

"How or why this simple act gave me such a powerful life I did not question, but I thanked God or whatever gave me the internal push to move forward and expose myself," she wrote. "I certainly wasn't expecting the response of love and kindness that flowed to me. My capacity to receive requires a massive expansion! I am ecstatically alive and what interests me post cancer is #AUTHENTICITY, #VULNERABILITY, #TRANSPARENCY and of course #LOVE."

These days, Cross is recognizing two other inspirations that make her feel alive: swimmer Diana Nyad and trainer Bonnie Stoll, her friends of 30 years who she presented with the Outstanding Achievement in Health & Fitness Award at the Daytime Beauty Awards. 

"They're the most authentic, powerful, dynamic and interesting women," Cross told E!, explaining that the pair have taught her about "making the most of your life, living fully."

"Their concern is to be alive, fully alive," the Emmy nominee added. "And to me, that's what makes them two of the most beautiful women I know, hands down."