Jeff Bridges & Resilience After Cancer Treatment
- Jeff Bridges, 72, was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and began chemotherapy treatment. While the treatment was working well, he was also diagnosed with Covid-19 in January 2021.
- Bridges reveals, in a new interview, he had to hire a trainer to help him prepare for walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.
- While Bridges didn't disclose publicly the type of lymphoma he was diagnosed with, the two most common types of this disease are Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Bridges, who stars in the new FX series The Old Man, reveals he worked with a trainer every day and eventually his walks got longer: “One day I said, ‘Maybe I can do it, you know’,” he tells the Independent, in an interview.
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In the Independent interview he recalls how COVID-19 “kicked his a**.”
"I am left with an aftertaste from the whole experience," Bridges told Esquire Middle East about his experience with cancer. "It smacks of the preciousness of life, of gratitude for all that I've been given. With my relationships, and my family, I have so much to be thankful for."
Bridges, after putting in the work, says “it turns out I not only got to walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance.”
He has been married to film producer Susan Geston since 1977. They also have two older daughters named Isabelle and Jessica.
Understanding Lymphoma Cancer
While Jeff Bridges didn't disclose publicly the type of lymphoma he was diagnosed with, the two most common types of this disease are Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin 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," 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 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 Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
Symptoms And Risks For Lymphoma
It is important to know there are no screening test for lymphoma, so being aware of risk is important.
Most people with lymphoma see their doctor because they have a swollen gland that won't go away, or they just don't feel right. If you suspect there's a problem, you can start with a visit to your family doctor, said Dr. Chong.
The doctor will first ask about your symptoms and risk factors. Then you'll have a physical exam, looking for swelling in your lymph nodes and belly. Your doctor will try to rule out other causes, such as an infection, which may require that you get a blood test, says Dr. Chong.
The only way to confirm that you have lymphoma is with a biopsy removing a small piece of a lymph node for testing. Because this test is somewhat invasive, your doctor won't do it unless he or she has a strong suspicion that you have lymphoma.
A lab will test the sample to see if it contains cancer cells. The biopsy results can also show what type of lymphoma it is. You might also need imaging tests such as an x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET) scan to find out what's causing your symptoms, and if you do have lymphoma, to determine its stage.
At the biological level, doctors know exactly what causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. "It's due to mutations in normal cells," Dr. Michael Jain, medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. DNA changes in healthy infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes cause those cells to transform into lymphoma.
Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk
DNA changes in cells happen all the time, and normally the immune system is able to identify those abnormal cells and get rid of them. But if the immune system doesn't recognize them, or if the abnormal cells multiply too quickly, they can turn into cancer, Dr. Jain adds.
With assistance from Anne McCarthy
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