Healing Through Art
- Actor Jeff Bridges’ never-before-heard music from the 70s is set to be released next month by Light in the Attic Records, and we’re delighted to see Bridges reflected on his love for making music.
- Bridges, who is known for starring as Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski in the 1998 comedy thriller “The Big Lebowski,” faced a lymphoma diagnosis in 2020 — and about a year later, in September 2021, was declared 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.
- Creating and listening to music, or engaging in any other form of art or creation, can be a powerful tool when coping with cancer or other health struggles.
- Research has shown that just listening to music can reduce anxiety and produce other positive effects on mental health.
Bridges is of course known for his iconic role as Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski in the 1998 comedy thriller “The Big Lebowski,” but now, the resilient cancer survivor’s musical skills will be featured on his upcoming album “Slow Magic, 1977-1978.”
Read MoreLight In The Attic Records shared the news on social media, alongside some footage of Bridges talking about his love for making music and the wonderful memories he has doing so with this friends.View this post on Instagram
The post read “Culled from a single decaying cassette tape labeled ‘July 1978,’ these recordings are a window into the secret musical life of the Dude. Even after becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Bridges spent all his free time jamming and recording with a trusted circle of musicians composed of childhood friends, artists, and assorted L.A. oddballs.
“Imagine The Band playing at CBGB with The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Or Arthur Russell and the Talking Heads collaborating on a suite of mutant disco.”
The independent record label explained further, “Though Bridges and his friends were brought up around the movie industry, they decided to create their own private musical universe, where they could be as weird as they wanted.
“Their music opens a portal to a hidden world of outlandish creativity and camaraderie in 1970s Los Angeles. It’s the missing piece of his musical evolution, revealed here for the first time in all its joyful abandon.”
As of now the song “Obnoxious” from the album is streaming on all digital platforms, however, a vinyl LP will be released on April 12th at independent record stores across the world.
Light In The Attic Records noted that all of the tracks have never been released.
According to The Quietus, Bridges said in a statement amidst the news that it’s “pretty wild that this thing that happened around 50 years ago wants to bloom.”
“I guess weirdness is what’s happening these days. You never can tell what’s gonna happen,” he added.
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.
RELATED: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Overview: Overview
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 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
Jeff Bridges reportedly 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.
RELATED: Watch this Inspiring Film About the Impact Art & Music Can Have on the Cancer Journey
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 Bridges. People usually develop Hodgkin lymphoma at a younger age.
Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk
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.
How Turning to Music Can Help Cancer Patients
Creating, listening, and even performing music can be a powerful tool. Most people have felt the positive effects of a musical experience, but fewer people know there is actually science to back it up.
Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “Just listening to music activates more brain regions simultaneously than any other human activity.”
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A study published last year in the journal Parkinson’s Disease researched the effects music had on the brain. It found music can help reduce anxiety for patients. Dr. Serap Bastepe-Gray, who co-founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine with Dr. Pantelyat, led the study.
“The guitar, which is portable, affordable, and one of the most popular instruments in the U.S., has potential as a motivational therapeutic tool both in the clinical and community settings,” Dr. Bastepe-Gray said.
Music therapy is a resource cancer patients turn to during treatment. Music therapy includes “creating, singing, moving, listening and/or relaxing” to the sounds of your favorite songs according to the National Cancer Institute.
This form of therapy can help relieve depression, stress, anxiety, and pain.
Pancreatic cancer survivor Joel Naftelberg can also attest to the power of music, as he found the support he needed from his music family.
Cancer Survivor Joel Naftelberg Learned to Dance on His Problems
“The people that were my heroes in entertainment and rock and roll have been my friends and have been some of the most supportive people that I’ve had in my life,” he told SurvivorNet.
Naftelberg describes his cancer as a “monster.” It’s “attacked every facet of [his] life,” but that doesn’t mean he’s let it get the best of him. Music has been his saving grace.
“I have found music and rock and roll to be transformational,” he said. “Doesn’t necessarily solve anything, but it does let us dance on our problems for at least an hour or two.
“Nothing better on a Friday afternoon than to hang with your friends and listen to beautiful music.”
Focusing on something you love is an important way to build resilience in the face of coping with cancer and chronic disease, psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman previously told SurvivorNet. She explained what she calls the “three wellsprings of vitality,” which are connecting with others, contributing to the lives of others, and challenging yourself to continue growing.
“Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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