Milestones: Celebrating the Joys of Life
- Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges, 74, is set to be honored as the recipient of the 49th Chaplin Award at a gala fundraiser at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2024. It’s great to see the father of three thriving after a cancer battle and being commemorated for his hard work over the years.
- Bridges was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and it went into remission in 2021. Shortly after his cancer diagnosis, he contracted COVID-19.
- Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is much more common than Hodgkin lymphoma, and it typically starts later in life.
- Reaching milestones during or after a cancer battle is huge. These events like getting engaged, winning an award, reaching another birthday, or a “cancerversary,” may mean even more than they did previously, so it’s important to take them all in and celebrate all that you’ve overcome.
Bridges, who was previously honored with the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, will be honored as the recipient of the 49th Chaplin Award at a gala fundraiser at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2024.
Starring our 2024 Chaplin Award recipient @thejeffbridges, STARMAN is a warm romance & a melancholic ghost story (with the breezy pacing of a road movie) and earned Bridges an Oscar nomination.
Read MoreFLC honors Jeff Bridges on April 29 at the Chaplin Gala! 🎟️: https://t.co/JS18f7NBCV pic.twitter.com/1L6yDUl4xY — Film at Lincoln Center (@FilmLinc) February 3, 2024Film at Lincoln Center (FLC), a nonprofit organization that “celebrates cinema as an essential art form and fosters a vibrant home for film culture to thrive” shared details of the event on its website, revealing it will take place in Alice Tully Hall at 7pm on Monday, April 29. Tickets for the Tribute-Only Award Gala can be purchased online and appear to range between $80 and $500. For those interested in attending both the Tribute and Dinner Gala tickets, one tribute and dinner seat costs $3,000, while two tribute and dinner priority seats costs $12,000.
The Chaplin Award Gala is Film at Lincoln Center’s big annual fundraiser and proceeds go to various nonprofit organization.
Bridges, who has been nominated for more than 100 awards and has made more than 70 films throughout his career, will be honored at the The Chaplin Award Tribute with “excerpts from a selection of his work, appearances by co-stars, friends, and colleagues, and the presentation of the award itself,” the FLC explained.
The award Bridges is set to receive has previously been given to actors and filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock, Barbara Streisand, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep.”
“Jeff Bridges is one of our most distinguished and beloved actors whose body of work, commitment to his art, and lifetime of career achievements demonstrate a significant contribution to the art of film,” Dan Stern, Chairman of the Board of Film at Lincoln Center, said.
“We at Film at Lincoln Center are honored to present the 49th Chaplin Award to Jeff Bridges, and look forward to celebrating with Jeff, his family, his colleagues, and the Film at Lincoln Center community and supporters.”
Praising “The Old Man” star as “one of America’s greatest actors,” Lesli Klainberg, president of Film at Lincoln Center, said, “Jeff Bridges is an artist and creative soul who naturally brings compassion and depth to every role he inhabits. His humanity and intelligence inform iconic characters such as Rooster Cogburn in ‘True Grit,’ Duane Jackson in ‘The Last Picture Show (NYFF9),’ and of course the iconic Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski in ‘The Big Lebowski.'”
“The Chaplin Award is meant to recognize the work of artists who believe in cinema and Film at Lincoln Center is delighted that Jeff Bridges will receive the 49th Chaplin Award.”
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.
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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 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.
View this post on Instagram“I’ll be honest. I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he told Esquire in an earlier interview. “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
Jeff Bridge’s battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the two most common types of 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.
Sneaky Lymphoma Symptoms Often Lead to a Late Diagnosis
“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,” she added, “and those sound like two different categories. But non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises the majority of lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma is a single specific type of lymphoma.”
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.
What Life May Look Like After Treatment
If patients have not experienced too many complications from their chemotherapy, “they are often able to go back to many of the same things that they did before they had their diagnosis of cancer and are able to live full and complete lives,” Dr. Michael Jain, medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk
If the cancer does return at some point, any future treatment you get will depend on:
- The type of lymphoma you had
- The type of treatment you received for it
- How long it has been since you finished your treatment
- Your overall health
Making a Survivorship Care Plan
So what comes after successful treatment? “At that point we often focus on the survivorship issues that they may have, preventing second cancers, and properly following them,” Dr. Jain explains.
A survivorship plan will include a schedule for follow-up exams and tests, plus a schedule for tests to check for any long-term health impacts from your cancer or treatment, and screening for any new cancers. (You’re at higher risk for cancers such as melanoma, lung cancer, and kidney cancer if you’ve had non-Hodgkin lymphoma).
Your doctor will likely tell you what to look out for in terms of side effects that could show up late or over the long term. Your care team will provide you with diet and physical activity recommendations as part of your survivorship plan.
Moving On From Treatment
It’s natural to feel continuing mental health effects, such as depression and anxiety, even after your treatment ends. This is where you can benefit from a supportive community. Look to strengthen your relationships with friends and family, faith groups, support groups, and mental health professionals to buoy you as you move on from treatment.
In addition to caring for their mental health, people who finish treatment and are in complete remission will want to move on from cancer with a physically healthy lifestyle. Eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, staying at a healthy weight, and not smoking are all lifestyle practices that generally contribute to a healthy quality of life.
Indeed, cancer and its treatment might naturally point survivors in the direction of such practices. “Mostly [we’re] trying to maximize the quality of life that people have, because once you have a cancer diagnosis, I think it is an important time in someone’s life where they can take stock and really understand what’s important,” Dr. Jain adds.
There’s Life After Cancer
We admire Bridges for never having allowed his cancer diagnosis to stop him from doing what he loves. He continued to work when he was able, and his efforts paid off with an Emmy nomination last year for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series.
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Sometimes it can be hard for cancer patients to see the light at the end of the tunnel especially after being hit with a diagnosis. However, SurvivorNet has shared thousands of stories from cancer warriors that prove everyday challenges tend to improve over time. With the support of loved ones that make up your support group, you too can find a way to navigate your emotions.
Your support group also helps motivate you while undergoing the rigors of cancer treatment. While every cancer warrior’s journey is unique, one thing is certain, you are more than your diagnosis.
Bridges and many other cancer survivors continue to demonstrate there’s life after cancer every day by focusing on what brings them joy, happiness, and gratitude.
WATCH: Living In Gratitude
Gratitude means being thankful for what you have and showing appreciation for it. It’s a mindset that helps people going through tough times, and the experts SurvivorNet spoke with encourage cancer warriors and their loved ones to practice gratitude.
Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet that his patients who live with gratitude tend to handle treatment better because this attitude is one way to stay mentally healthy.
Reaching Milestones as a Cancer Survivor
Reaching milestones during or after a cancer battle is huge. These events like getting engaged, winning an award, reaching another birthday, or a “cancerversary,” may mean even more than they did previously, so it’s important to take them all in and celebrate all that you’ve overcome.
I’m Able to Be Here For More Milestones One Cancer Survivor’s Incredible Story
Chrissy Degennaro is also a cancer warrior determined to keep enjoying these precious milestones. She has been battling a rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma for 14 years, and was first diagnosed when she was just 36 years old with a 2-year-old son.
When she was given her diagnosis, she almost expected to not be able to see him enter kindergarten. But thanks to 27 rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants, a CAR-T cell trial and two CAR-T cell transplants over following 14 years, she’s able to keep making memories with her family.
“You know, I do live one day at a time,” Chrissy previously told SurvivorNet. “Now, maybe I can go a week, a month, but things are looking pretty good. I’m able to be here for more milestones for my son, for more holidays, more birthdays. I do feel like I have had another chance at life.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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