# Chadwick Boseman

Source: https://onco.cc/people/chadwick-boseman/  
OnCo record `chadwick-boseman` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

He made Black Panther and other films while being treated for colon cancer, which he kept private. His death at 43 in 2020 forced attention on rising colorectal cancer in young adults and its heavier toll on Black Americans.

## Summary

Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020) was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and continued to work through surgery and chemotherapy, filming Black Panther, Marshall, Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom without disclosing his illness. He died on 28 August 2020 at 43. The announcement prompted a wave of public discussion about colorectal cancer in people under 50, whose incidence has been rising for decades, and about the higher incidence and mortality among Black Americans. In May 2021 the US Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended starting age for colorectal screening from 50 to 45, a change that had been under review and that advocates linked to the awareness his death created.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Tags: public-figure; patient
- Role: Actor whose death brought early-onset colorectal cancer into public view
- Specialisms: Early-onset colorectal cancer; Cancer disparities; Public awareness

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman
- Colorectal Cancer Alliance: https://colorectalcancer.org/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Early-onset colorectal cancer (under 50)](https://onco.cc/cancers/early-onset-colorectal/)
- technologies: [Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood)](https://onco.cc/technologies/colorectal-screening/)
- terms: [Adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology](https://onco.cc/terms/aya-oncology/), [Cancer health disparities and equity](https://onco.cc/terms/cancer-health-disparities/)
- bottlenecks: [The hardest cancers are found late](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-early-detection/), [Trials do not represent the people who get cancer](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-trial-diversity/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/chadwick-boseman.json