The man behind one of America’s most recognizable comic strips is now in his final days, according to family members close to him.
Scott Adams, the 68-year-old creator of Dilbert, is receiving hospice care at his home as he battles an aggressive form of prostate cancer, his ex-wife Shelly Adams disclosed this week.
Shelly Adams told TMZ that the cartoonist has been receiving end-of-life care at home for the past week. She described how his condition has rapidly deteriorated in recent days.
The ex-wife, along with her sister and Adams’ stepdaughter, have been providing around-the-clock care for the ailing cartoonist.
Nurses have been visiting regularly to assist with his hospice treatment.
Adams first revealed his metastatic cancer diagnosis in May 2025.
At that time, he acknowledged the odds of recovery were essentially zero.
In a podcast episode during the first week of 2026, Adams disclosed additional health complications.
He had been dealing with ongoing heart failure and had lost feeling in his legs.
He also noted breathing difficulties, saying “it is difficult to breathe sometimes during the day.”
Despite experiencing bouts of confusion, Adams has continued working until the very end.
He recently filmed what is expected to be his final podcast episode, in which he reportedly addresses his deteriorating health directly.
The conservative cartoonist had previously stated his intention to continue as long as possible, pretending he had no problems and acting like nothing was happening.
He said he would simply take painkillers, noting there was no real limit to what he could take at that point.
Adams also cited massive amounts of marijuana as another method of managing his condition.
Earlier this month, he warned that January would probably be a month of transition, one way or another.
Referring to his prognosis, he stated he would provide updates if anything changed, but added that it would not.
Adams had been married twice. His first marriage was to Shelly Adams, who is now caring for him. He was also previously married to Kristina Basham, a glamorous pilot, but the couple split in March 2022.
The cartoonist had vowed to continue working on Dilbert and other projects for as long as he could.
The comic strip was in syndication in major newspapers from 1989 until 2023 and is now self-published by Adams as a webcomic called Dilbert Reborn.
When Adams first revealed his diagnosis in May, he told viewers of his Real Coffee with Scott Adams show that he had “the same cancer that Joe Biden has.”
He noted his cancer had spread to his bones and that he had been dealing with it longer than Biden had admitted having it.
At that time, Adams said he expected to be checking out sometime during the summer. He called his condition intolerable and made clear there was only one direction his health would go.
Adams, a longtime vocal Trump supporter, commented on the lack of sympathy some people showed for Biden due to politics.
He noted it was especially difficult to watch as the public had decided to become prostate experts.
Following Trump’s second election victory in November, Adams received assistance from the President.
Trump helped him obtain a newly FDA-approved drug called Pluvicto.
Adams, who had supported Trump since his 2016 campaign, had asked for help on X.
Trump responded on Truth Social with “On it!” However, the treatment proved ineffective by December, according to another update from Adams.
Rounds of radiation treatment had left him paralyzed below the waist, he told viewers.
