Author and “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams announced on Monday that he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and is not expected to live past this summer.
The day after President Joe Biden announced a similar diagnosis, Adams told his followers about his health issues during a livestream.
“I have the same cancer that Joe Biden has. I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones,” Adams said. “But I've had it longer than he's had it. Well, longer than he's admitted having it. My life expectancy is maybe the summer. I expect to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer.”
The cartoonist further explained that he is considering taking advantage of a California law that allows people to take their own lives.
Now, in California, I've got an option that he doesn't have. I was actually an activist when California was considering this. In California, once you get to where you're definitely going to die, you're terminal, there's a very civilized process where you can get some juice that you drink that makes you fall asleep and then you pass away. So you do that when the disease becomes intolerable. Now, the disease is already intolerable. I can tell you that I don't have good days. So if you're wondering, ‘Hey, Scott, do you have any good days?’ Nope, every day is a nightmare, and evening is even worse.
Adams went on to explain that he had to stop doing his evening shows because “I don’t really function too well after the show” and that he is “always in pain.”
And the pain moves around to different parts of my body. I've been using a walker to walk for months now. So it's basically intolerable. I'm glad I was part of the activism that got the law passed in California, so you can take yourself out. Now, I realized that for some of you, this is hitting you hard because you're hearing it for the first time. Weirdly, since it's old news to me, I've just processed it, so it just is what it is. I have to say that everybody has to die, as far as I know. And it's civilized that you know about how long you have so you can put your affairs together and make sure you've said your goodbyes and done all the things you need to do.
The author further explained that he waited to make the announcement because “it would change my life because everybody would start treating me like the cancer guy” and that “once you go public, you’re just the dying cancer guy, and I didn’t want you to have to think about it, and I didn’t want to have to think about it.”
Coffee With Scott Adams 5/19/25 https://t.co/miG4jySdsD
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) May 19, 2025
Adams is best known for creating the “Dilbert” comic strip in 1989, which gained widespread popularity. He has also written a series of bestselling books, including “Loserthink,” “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big,” and several others.
He garnered national attention — and controversy — when he delved into the world of politics during President Donald Trump’s first term. His book, “Win Bigly” is a masterpiece, breaking down how Trump leveraged his “weapons grade” persuasion skills to win the 2017 election.
Much of Adams’ commentary focuses on persuasion in politics, and he has amassed a solid following since his entry into politics. During the livestream, he indicated he would continue his podcast until he is no longer able.
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