Stars Who Lost Their Battle With Cancer

Cancer claims the life of Donna Summers, plus others.

Stokely Carmichael - As a freshman at Howard University, Stokely Carmichael became involved in the civil rights movement in 1961. He took his first Freedom Ride through the South to protest segregation of interstate travel. He was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, and jailed for 49 days after entering a “whites only” bus stop. (Photo: David Fenton/Getty Images)
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R.I.P. - The sports world mourned the loss of some of its brightest lights in 2011 – among them NFL Hall-of-Famers Bubba Smith, John Mackey, Al Davis and Lee Roy Selmon. But it was the death of former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier on Nov. 7 that produced the biggest outpouring of feeling—including the appearance of the ailing Muhammad Ali, who journeyed to Frazier’s funeral in Philadelphia despite his own declining health, to pay his respects to Smokin’ Joe.(Photo: Philadelphia Daily News/MCT/Landov)
Nick Ashford: (5/4/41 – 8/22/11) - The music community lost a legend when Ashford died on August 22, 2011, in a New York City hospital after suffering from throat cancer. In a ceremony during BET Awards 2012, Nick Ashford was remembered for some of his contributions to music.(Photo: Shawn Ehlers/WireImage)Naomi Sims - Striking beauty and a keen business sense were embodied in Naomi Sims, the woman credited as the first Black supermodel. After coming into fame in the 1960s, she retired from modeling in 1973 and began building a multi-million dollar empire through her successful wig company and numerous beauty books. She died at age 61 from breast cancer on Aug. 1, 2009.  (Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images)

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Black Stars Who Slayed at the 97th Academy Awards

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Etta James - The blues and R&B trailblazer passed away on Jan. 20, 2012, after a long battle with chronic leukemia and reportedly also suffered from dementia and kidney failure. The “At Last” singer was 73. (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Redferns/Getty Images)

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