DJ Casper Dies From Cancer, Kim Kardashian Encourages Full-Body Scans and More

TODAY show contributor, Jill Martin, provided an update on her breast cancer.

Jill Martin, commonly known for being a contributor the TODAY show, said that she received a double mastectomy weeks after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

“In the past six weeks, I learned I am positive for a BRCA2 mutation, had stage 2 breast cancer, then had a double mastectomy and learned that my life will soon look very different,” Martin wrote in a piece published by TODAY.

Martin had learned about her diagnosis after undergoing genetic testing, where doctors found a gene mutation (BRCA2) that is associated with breast cancer. After learning about the mutation, she received an MRI, which revealed that she had breast cancer.

Just one week after receiving her double mastectomy, doctors told Martin that she would need additional treatment to ensure that she was fully free of breast cancer.

“I cannot tell you how helpful, inspiring, heartwarming, and life-changing it was to get all of your messages of strength and prayer after I shared the news of my breast cancer diagnosis. I am so touched, blown away and humbled. That really is what has helped me during this slow journey of healing,” Martin explained.

Since becoming diagnosed, Martin has been encouraging individuals to get tested for gene mutations, regardless of the fear it may bring.

“I will be on and off the air dealing with treatment for the next six months, but I thought it was important to share this journey with you in real time. I have shared the happy, the sad and now the scary. We will get through this together,” Martin wrote.

Casey DeSantis revealed a breast cancer diagnosis.

Casey DeSantis, the current first lady of Florida, discussed her diagnosis with breast cancer, which she received in 2021.

Casey explained how her husband, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was her main support system.

“We didn’t really know what was going to happen, right? You never know when something like that comes upon your family. And so I had to rely on him in a really big way,” Casey told NBC News.

DeSantis went through six rounds of chemotherapy and three surgeries, while still trying to hide her diagnosis from her young children.

“I couldn’t pick up my 3-year-old, when they wanted me to hold him. And I had to tell him a little bit of a fib, that Mommy’s arm hurts. And I have to go back to the hospital because it’s about my arm. It wasn’t about the arm. To this day, they have no idea of what I’ve been through,” DeSantis told NBC News.

DeSantis plans to tell them at some point, but figures that they are too young to understand the extent of her diagnosis.

DJ Casper died from cancer at 58.

DJ Casper, more commonly known for creating the “Cha Cha Slide,” died from cancer on Monday, according to a statement from his wife, Kim.

In his last interview with ABC7 this May, he discussed his struggles with health alongside his international fame. The Chicago native explained how he always tried to keep his head up and stay positive, according to ABC7.

His song, “Cha Cha Slide,” is a popular dance, and has played at stadiums all over the world — even during the Olympics. He began touring with James Brown, in 2016, but was then diagnosed with kidney and liver cancer.

"They went in to try to do surgery, and they found out the kidney was connected to the main artery, so they decided not to do it and just treat it,” Casper explained to ABC7.

Casper had also mentioned to ABC7 that he was struggling with eating and weight loss after the diagnosis.

"If you know me, you know I'm not going to stop. I'm going to continue to go. I'm going to continue to go until I can't go,” he said.

Casper said that he wanted patients with cancer to keep going, and to not let cancer define who they are.

"Anybody that's going through cancer, know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you," Casper said. "So, keep on doing the 'Cha Cha Slide.'”

Kim Kardashian encouraged fans to receive full-body cancer scans.

Reality star, Kim Kardashian, encouraged her 363 million Instagram fans to receive a full-body scan to check for cancer and other health conditions, as she posted about her own scan on Instagram.

“I recently did this @prenuvo scan and had to tell you all about this life-saving machine. The Prenuvo full-body scan has the ability to detect cancer and diseases such as aneurysms in its earliest stages, before symptoms arise. It was like getting an MRI for an hour with no radiation. It has really saved some of my friends lives and I just wanted to share #NotAnAd,” Kardashian wrote.

Kardashian had also posted a selfie picture in the mirror after her full body scan.

Although Kardashian encouraged others to do the same, this post received extreme controversy, as fans commented on the fact that her scan was $2,500.

“Wow thanks so much for sharing something 90% of the population can’t afford,” one commentor wrote, while another asked, “How can we make this more available to low-income families?”

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