The Power of Support
- Actor Jeff Bridges, 74, revealed this week that both he and his wife of 48 years, Susan Geston, have maintained a healthy and strong marriage by following one rule … “don’t get divorced.” The loving couple have been by each others side through Bridges’ past health issues and their devotion to each other is truly inspirational.
- Bridges announced in October 2020 that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and about a year later in September 2021, he was declared to be in remission.
- He 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.
- Family support through life’s challenges, even cancer treatment, can make the world of a difference, whether it’s support from friends, family, spouses, or fellow cancer fighters in a support group.
- Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik says supporters of cancer patients should prepare themselves for a wide range of emotions a cancer diagnosis can spawn. “People can have a range of emotions…they can include fear, anger…and these emotions tend to be fluid.”
The loving couple, and parents to their three daughter Isabelle, Jessica, and Haley, who have been married since June 5, 1997, gave away their marriage tip prior to Bridges being honored at the 49th Chaplin Award Gala in New York City earlier this week.
Read MoreAs for being granted the Chaplin Award during the event on Monday, April 29, his wife praised the accomplishment as “terrific,” adding, “he’s in very lovely company.
Bridges also spoke about how he felt winning the award, saying, “It’s hard to put into words, you know? I don’t remember so many of these things, you know, unless people bring them up, but I don’t think of myself as making as many movies as I have, and so to be recognized for my work is, you know, it’s spectacular.”
We’re delighted to see Bridges and his wife continuing on as a happy couple. In fact, he previously told CBS that he credits his wife for giving him the strength he needed to get through all of his health issues.
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Looking back to when they met, Bridges said, “I have a photograph of the first words that I ever said to my wife, and first words she said to me: ‘Will you go out with me?’ ‘No.’ And click, the guy took the picture.” Bridges said of their chance meeting. “You know, and wow, it’s my prized possession.”
Susan was not the only family member who was an inspiration for the actor as he recovered. He made a vow to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle during her August 2021 wedding and told The Independent that he ended up having to hire a trainer to get him in shape in the months leading up.
“Finally, one day I said, ‘Maybe I can do it, you know,'” he told the outlet. “And it turns out, I not only got to walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance. That was terrific.”
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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 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 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.”
Power of Support
A support system, like how Bridges has with his wife, can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.
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“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional,” Dr. Plutchik added.
Dr. Plutchik also stressed it is important for people supporting cancer warriors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day.
“People can have a range of emotions, they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process,” Dr. Plutchik said.
Meanwhile, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin says people faced with cancer should “surround [themselves] with individuals who care and support [them]” throughout treatment while also acknowledging their limits on what they can handle.
“Going through [cancer] treatment is a very vulnerable and emotionally exhausting experience,” Dr. Strongin wrote in a column for SurvivorNet. “Noticing what you have strength for and what is feeling like too much [is] extremely important to pay attention to as you navigate treatment.”
If you’re ever in a relationship where you feel overwhelmed by how your partner is trying to support you, Dr. Strongin says you should try to communicate your feelings. This may help you decide if your partner is the person you want beside you “during this arduous chapter” of life.
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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.
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“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.
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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