Jeff Bridges' Cancer Battle: Milestones
- Actor Jeff Bridges, who bravely fought non-Hodgkin lymphoma and COVID-19, has revealed that having the “little goal” of being able to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day helped him push through disease and get better.
- Bridges was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and started chemotherapy treatment right away. Although Bridges hasn’t personally specified which type of lymphoma he was diagnosed with, AARP noted that his cancer was, in fact, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cancer of a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the immune system.
- While cancer treatment was going well, he was also diagnosed with COVID-19 in January 2021, and due to his cancer treatment having weakened his immune system, Bridges wound up spending months in the hospital. However, he was able to beat COVID-19 after his hospital stay and his cancer went into remission soon after he underwent chemotherapy treatments.
- Bridges had chemotherapy to treat his disease. Other lymphoma treatments include active surveillance, radiation, and bone marrow transplant.
- The two main types of lymphoma are Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more common, and you’re more likely to be diagnosed with it after age 55. People usually develop Hodgkin lymphoma at a younger age.
- Experts recommend anyone facing cancer should make sure they continue to prioritize their overall well-being and do the things that they love. It can help fuel a positive attitude.
We love how the 74-year-old “Crazy Heart” star was able to work hard to achieve his goal of walking his daughter Hayley down the aisle on her big day, as well as return to work on the set of the FX series “The Old Man,” something he recently recounted in an interview with People.
Read More“And turned out not only did I walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance with her. Then I’d rush to my table and put my oxygen on!”
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He ultimately was able to return to filming, for “The Old Man” season two, with a tumor that significantly decreased in size.
The longtime actor, known for iconic roles like “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski, described his health journey as “fascinating” and explained, “I don’t know the exact size of it. I get MRIs and all that down the line, but my oncologist says, ‘You’re looking good, man.’
“And I get all my blood tests and everything and everything’s going real well.”
However, prior to feeling better and seeing success in his treatment journey, Bridges admitted he had lost hope, thinking he wouldn’t be able to return to acting on “The Old Man,” and that he may die from the disease.
He added, “I remember one doctor said, ‘You got to fight, Jeff. You’re not fighting.’ And I had no idea what he was talking about. I was in surrender mode, just, ‘Everybody dies. This might be me doing that.’
“And out of that surrender, like I say, all of this intense love surfaced, and maybe that’s what caused me to survive, I don’t know. But I didn’t relate to the fighting thing, more of a surrendering.”
Bridges continued, “All of your strategies for life, how you work … all of those get heightened. And love, that’s the word that comes to mind.
“To see how much I love my family and my friends and the nurses and doctors that were caring for me, and how much love is coming at me. So it just exacerbated love, basically.”
Expert Resources On Staying Active Through Cancer
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In an earlier interview, on how he trained everyday to walk more, he told the Independent, “One day I said, ‘Maybe I can do it, you know.'”
“The first goal was how long can I stand up,” he said to the Independent, “and my record was 45 seconds, that’s how long I could stand up. And then it was, how many steps can I take? Oh good. Now I’m going to walk down the hall all this with oxygen, of course.”
RELATED: 7 Tips for Cancer Survivors to Become Stronger — Mentally & Physically
Jeff Bridges’ Cancer Battle
Jeff Bridges was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and started chemotherapy treatment right away. Although Bridges hasn’t personally specified which type of lymphoma he was diagnosed with, AARP noted that his cancer was, in fact, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cancer of a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the immune system.
While cancer treatment was going well, he was also diagnosed with COVID-19 in January 2021, and due to his cancer treatment having weakened his immune system, Bridges wound up spending months in the hospital.
According to AARP, Bridges’ cancer went into remission quickly after he was put through chemotherapy infusion, which was followed by an oral chemo protocol.
He dubbed his wife Susan Geston, 71, as being his “absolute champion” as she stayed by Bridges’ side as he recovered from covid in the hospital. “She really fought to keep me off a ventilator. I didn’t want to be on it, and the doctors didn’t necessarily want that. But Sue was adamant,” he told the news outlet.
He was ultimately treated with a blood plasma called “convalescent plasma,” which consists of viral antibodies.
Despite his struggle, like so many cancer survivors, Bridges was left with a renewed appreciation for life.
“I’ll be honest. I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he told Esquire Middle East in 2022. “I was on death’s door there for a while in the hospital. When I finally went back to work, after a two-year hiatus, it was the most bizarre kind of thing. It felt like a dream.”
“I came back after all that time, and saw the same faces [while shooting ‘The Old Man’], the same cast and crew,” he added. “It was like we had a long weekend. I gathered everyone and I said, ‘I had the most bizarre dream, you guys.’ I was sick and out, but all that feels like a gray mush now.”
Understanding Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. And there are more than 40 different types of lymphoma.
“Lymphoma is split up into a number of different categories,” Dr. Elise Chong, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, previously told SurvivorNet.
“The first distinguishing breakpoint, if you will, is non-Hodgkin lymphoma versus Hodgkin lymphoma and those sound like two different categories,” she explained. “But non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises the majority of lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma is a single specific type of lymphoma.”
Sneaky Lymphoma Symptoms Often Lead to a Late Diagnosis
Hodgkin lymphoma has distinctive, giant cells called Reed-Sternberg cells. The presence of these cells, which can be seen under a microscope, will help your doctor determine which of the two lymphoma types you have.
There are a few other important differences between non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma to note. For one thing, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is much more common. And you’re more likely to be diagnosed with it after age 55, like Jeff Bridges. People usually develop Hodgkin lymphoma at a younger age.
It should be noted that another difference between these two types of lymphoma is that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to spread in a random fashion and be found in different groups of lymph nodes in the body, while Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to grow in a uniform way from one group of lymph nodes directly to another.
These two different types of lymphoma behave, spread and respond to treatment differently, so it’s important for you to know which type you have.
Finding Vitality and the ‘Pathway’ to Resilience
Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests that people working on their mental health practice positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging patients to feel positive and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives.
Dr. Boardman explains them as “pathways to embrace your everyday resilience.” In other words, these are tools people who may be struggling with mental health issues can embrace to help maintain a certain sense of positivity. And those positive feelings can go a long way when people are facing a health challenge like a cancer diagnosis.
Staying Active After a Cancer Diagnosis
According to Dr. Boardman, these three wellsprings of vitality are:
- Connecting. This involves how you’re connecting with others and having meaningful interactions. It involves being a good listener and being engaged with the people around you who you care about.
- Contribution. How are you adding value to the people around you? Are you helping them in ways that feel meaningful to them? This entails contributing/engaging with others in a meaningful way.
- Feeling challenged. Being “positively challenged” could involve learning something new (perhaps by taking a new class or reading an interesting book) and expanding your mind in some way.
“Those are the cores of vitality and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Do What You Love During & After Cancer
During cancer treatment, and also after, it can be hard to focus on anything except your treatment or the challenges that follow a cancer battle. However, Jeff Bridges is a wonderful example that it’s important to take a moment and focus on something that makes you genuinely happy.
Experts recommend you try to take some time out of your day a few times a week and really enjoy those special pockets of joy.
“We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes,” Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology, previously told SurvivorNet.
“So working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival. If that’s related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities.”
Dr. Dana Chase Encourages Those Facing Cancer to Find Moments of Joy During Treatment
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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