Cameron Mathison sensed that something was wrong, but it took two years of pushing for answers before an MRI revealed kidney cancer. The experience changed how the “General Hospital” actor thinks about his health—and about knowing when to give his body a rest.
Mathison was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 2019. Before then, he had pursued extensive testing, including bloodwork, gut microbiome assessments and hormone evaluations. Some results raised concerns, but he struggled to find an explanation.
He said he had been trying hard to take care of himself, perhaps too intensely, and that the tests kept turning up warning signs. Looking back, one lesson stands out: people should advocate for their own health when they feel something is being missed.
Cancer also prompted Mathison to reconsider his approach to fitness. After years of pushing himself, he says he better understands the value of rest and recovery.
The diagnosis came amid several other painful changes. Mathison lost his mother, went through the end of his 22-year marriage, lost his family home in a wildfire and saw his hosting job on “Home & Family” end when the show was canceled.
With those losses mounting and his children heading off to college, he found himself asking what he wanted his life to look like next.
Mathison said the experience made him more aware that there are no guarantees about how much time anyone has. That thought may sound bleak, he acknowledged, but for him it has become a reason to live with more purpose—to be kind, loving, thoughtful and grateful.
That focus on family helped draw him to “A Very Arctic Christmas,” where he reunites with “Lioness” actor Jill Wagner. Mathison plays Jim, a single father and former Major League Baseball player who now works as a broadcaster. During an Arctic cruise with his 20-year-old daughter, Isla, a mix-up leaves them stranded after their ship sails without them.
They turn to Jane, a wildlife conservationist played by Wagner, for help in the frozen wilderness. Maya Rose Skabar plays Isla.
Mathison said the story felt personal in part because it reflected his relationship with his children, their travels and some of the difficulties their family has experienced. The movie, he said, mixes humor and touching moments with the romance audiences often expect from a Christmas film.
He also spoke warmly about Wagner’s off-camera personality, describing her as upbeat, funny and a prolific prankster. He said audiences may know her from very different roles, but her sense of humor is something special.
“A Very Arctic Christmas” is available to stream on Great American Pure Flix.
