NEW YORK CITY — Simone Ledward-Boseman said in a television interview on Friday, March 20, that she and her late husband Chadwick Boseman initially felt confident he would survive his colon cancer diagnosis. Boseman began his private fight with colon cancer in 2016, which remained largely unknown to the public until his death.

Boseman chose not to publicly disclose his cancer diagnosis during his illness. The actor died in August 2020 at the age of 43 after his cancer returned in 2019.

"I think when he was initially diagnosed, we both felt very sure that he would make it through," Ledward-Boseman said in the television interview. "It was gonna be a challenging moment, but something that he would come out on the other side of and be fine."

"It's harder to talk about the good times than it is the bad," Ledward-Boseman said, describing the emotional challenge of remembering happier moments. "The edges get less sharp, I think, is the best way to put it. There are still edges."

Ledward-Boseman described celebrating moments of hope during Boseman's treatment. She called 2018 "a beautiful year." Black Panther was released in February 2018 during Boseman's cancer battle.

Over the course of his career, Chadwick Boseman portrayed Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall in films. Boseman received a posthumous Oscar nomination for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Ledward-Boseman and Boseman married in 2020.