This year's edition of the Stand Up to Cancer fundraising special aired live from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
This year's edition of the Stand Up to Cancer fundraiser aired live from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, leaving us with some memorable moments filled with humor and poignancy.
The night supports a tremendous cause, with all of the proceeds going to the groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research.
EXCLUSIVE: Shannen Doherty Gives Update on Cancer Battle
Read on for the most memorable moments from the telecast:
1. The Show Open
Ed Helms kicked off the night with a video in which he pretended to pitch a cancer movie to some of his famous friends, who all seemed to miss the point of the project. "Are you sold on cancer?" asked Zach Galifianakis. "Because I see my character as a doctor, but a doctor of philosophy."
"If Matt Damon is involved, can I be the genius and he play the supportive best friend this time?" Ben Affleck said. "I think that's more realistic."
"Are the female doctors paid the same as male doctors, or is it like Hollywood?" asked Eva Longoria.
"Who's playing cancer?" said Jon Hamm.
2. Stars Explaining Cancer Treatment
Eric Stonestreet explained immunotherapy, while Josh Gad broke down the inner workings of cancer interception.
"The T-cells of our immune system keep us healthy by fighting anything that might make us sick, but for some reason, T-cells often can't tell that cancer cells are the bad guys," Stonestreet said. "So one type of immunotherapy engineers or alters our T-cells to recognize cancer cells like putting super power glasses on them. Now, they see the cancer cells and kill them. And that's how just one form of immunotherapy works."
Gad talked interception during a staged trip to the lavatory.
"Oh hello, camera in the bathroom," he said. "Interception? Well, that sounds complicated, but it's really not. Let me explain. You see, with cancer interception, doctors identify which cells will become cancerous right when they are first turning bad. They intercept them while they are potentially vulnerable to treatment and before they spread to other parts of the body, and like magic they are gone."
3. Appearances from Celebrity Cancer Survivors
Kathy Bates and Rita Wilson both participated in the event after surviving their own battles with cancer. Bates has overcome the disease twice after first defeating ovarian cancer in 2003 and again in 2012 when she underwent a double mastectomy for breast cancer.
Wilson declared she was cancer free in Dec. 2015 after she also received a double mastectomy.
4. Highlighting Hero Scientists and Doctors
One touching segment put a spotlight on people like Phillip A. Sharp, PhD; Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD; Elizabeth Jaffee, MD; Cassian Yee, MD; Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD and William G. Nelson, MD, PhD, who spend every waking moment in the pursuit of discovering new ways to protect people from cancer.
"Stand Up to Cancer has been at the forefront of the most exciting areas in cancer science and treatment," said Sharp, "and it's pushing forward as fast as it can."
5. Tony Hale's Self-Exam for Testicular Cancer
The Veep star met up with Ken Jeong -- who practiced medicine before making it in Hollywood...without knowing all the details of his appointment.
"I thought I was getting a massage," Hale said when Jeong informed him he would be getting a primer on how to conduct a self-exam for testicular cancer.
"In a way you are," Jeong joked.
6. Celine Dion Performing the Song Pink Wrote for Her After Her Husband's Death
The diva tragically lost her husband, Rene Angelil, to throat cancer earlier this year.
"I miss Rene every day, and the loss will now be a part of my life," she said. "I also lost my father and my brother Daniel to cancer. A few months ago, during my most difficult time of grieving, I received an unexpected gift from an amazing artist that I have always admired -- Pink. She offered me a song that expresses the power to stand up and stay strong. This most wonderful song is called 'Recovering.'"