Diane Keaton dies at 79: Inside Godfather actor's battle against her health struggles

DIane buster keaton kept her personal life-time mostly buck private before her dying at 79 in golden state, according to her family.While she never shared any major health updates publicly in her final months, Keaton had previously spoken about her long battles with skin cancer and bulimia, according to E! Online.Her trademark hats were more than a fashion choice. She began wearing them seriously after being diagnosed with skin cancer at 21.“It’s a family history,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it. It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”Also read: Diane Keaton listed beloved $29M LA home for sale months before death amid ‘unexpected’ health declineKeaton didn’t pay attention to her skin in her 20sKeaton said she didn’t start caring for her skin until later in life. “Back in my 20s I didn’t pay attention much,” she admitted. “I didn’t research and didn’t really care and that was stupid because it’s dogged me my entire adult life, even recently. I didn’t start sun care until my 40s.”After being treated for basal cell carcinoma in her 20s, Keaton was later diagnosed with squamous cell cancer, which required two surgeries, according to the Times.She also spoke openly about her battle with bulimia, which began after being told to lose 10 pounds for a Broadway role early in her career."All I did was feed my hunger, so I am an addict," she said in a 2014 interview with Dr. Oz. "It's true. I'm an addict in recovery, I'll always be an addict. I have an addictive nature to me."Keaton consumed 20,000 calories a day before purging.Keaton described how she would eat up to 20,000 calories a day before purging. “Typical dinner was a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, a couple TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake and three banana cream pies,” she said.Eventually, she sought help. “Somebody mentioned that I seemed to have some mental issues, so I went to an analyst,” she said. “I would go five days a week.”Keaton adopted children in her 50sKeaton, who adopted daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, in her 50s, later said she felt no need to hide her past.“I have nothing to hide. It’s not relevant, but for me it feels good,” she wrote in her 2011 book Then Again, according to the New York Daily News. “I think I’m a sister to all the rest of the women, and I’m sure men as well, who have had some kind of eating disorder, and I’m a part of the team.”