On September 11, 2001, Roddy was diagnosed with colon cancer. He took a leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery and chemotherapy, and returned a month later. One year later, the colon cancer returned, and Roddy temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery on September 20, 2002. Again, he recovered within a month. In March 2003, Roddy was diagnosed with male breast cancer. He underwent surgery and afterwards, experienced major complications. As a result, Roddy was unable to announce for "The Price Is Right" for the rest of Season 31. The diagnoses led to Roddy becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years. In an interview with CBS, Roddy commented to the general public: