Nelson has survived three kinds of cancer. She was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma a month after her 1987 marriage to
William R. Moses, and one year after her father was killed in an aircraft crash on New Year's Eve in DeKalb, Texas. Nelson went into remission after surgery, chemotherapy (ABVD) and radiation at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Having suffered trauma from radiation, Nelson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2005 and breast cancer in 2010. She is currently fully recovered from a bilateral mastectomy and complete reconstruction. Nelson is active in cancer research advocacy and was the spokesperson for The Lymphoma Research Foundation of America. She received the "Lifesaver Award" from that organization and the "Jill Ireland Award" from the Amie Karen Cancer Fund for Children.
