C for Cover Up
The first person to publicly call cancer “The Big C” was John Wayne. The idea came to him as he hoped it would make his own experience with the illness less “scary” to studio executives back in the 1960s.
Photo by RKO Pictures/Getty Images
The actor famously had a long battle with the disease. In his first fight with cancer, the actor lost a rib and half of one of his lungs. Somehow, shortly after that, he still managed to hold a press conference in his living room. He certainly was able to maintain a strong public image.