Actress Kathy Bates, 76, Says Incredible 100-Pound Weight Loss Has Helped Her Career– A New Life After Beating Cancer Twice

Bates, known for her memorable roles in “Titanic,” “Misery,” and “Fried Green Tomatoes,” spoke with the magazine in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 22 first episode date of the new drama series “Matlock” she’s starring in as Madeline Matlock.

She admitted, referring to her drastic weight loss and how it’s helped her maintain stamina for work, “It’s helped me tremendously that, over the last six or seven years, I’ve lost 100 pounds.

“I don’t think I’ve been this slim since I was in college.”

Noting how she felt her heaviest when she acted in the 2011 drama series “Harry’s Law,” Bates explained further, “I had to sit down every moment that I could. It was hard for me to walk.

“I’m ashamed I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy.”

She also pointed out that if she chooses to retire anytime soon, she would anticipate doing after completing “several years” of “Matlock.”

Bates, who also said she won’t be returning to acting on “American Horror Story,” added, “I can’t believe I’m saying that about doing episodic TV, but this has been so much of a challenge and a delight.

“Matty [Madeline Matlock] is certainly my magic carpet right now, and I want her to go sailing on for quite a long time.”

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with Universal Studios, Bates, who was 70 at the time, commented on how she felt after losing 60 pounds.

“This is the best health I’ve been in in years and I’m so grateful — it’s a miracle,” she said, revealing she lost the excess weight by simply making lifestyle changes.

“Well, I was facing diabetes, it runs in my family, and I really didn’t want to live with that,” she explained.

Bates then shared a health tip she learned from a family member, “After you eat for 20-30 minutes, you experience an involuntary sigh. It’s communication between stomach and brain telling you you had enough.

“And what I discovered is if you listen to that sigh and push that plate away for just five minutes, you realize you’re satisfied and you don’t have to eat more.”

She also admitted that shedding the weight helped diminish her symptoms of lymphedema.

Kathy Bates’ Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

Bates was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer 21 years ago in 2003. In a prior interview with SurvivorNet, the “Misery” star said the diagnosis “knocked the stuffing out of me,” but she was lucky to have caught it early, as it was just about to spread.

RELATED: Kathy Bates ‘Didn’t Want to Have Cancer’ and Kept It Secret for Years How She Turned That Anger Into Passion to Help Other Patients

She underwent surgery and chemotherapy — all while working on the 2004 film “Little Black Book.” That’s something Bates said she struggled with.

“I lost patience with people when things would be draggy. You really can’t do that on a movie set because things are going to go at the pace they’re going to go and yelling about it isn’t going to help.”

Mind Over Cancer How to Gain Greater Control Over Ovarian Cancer

The Memphis native described the extremely difficult experience she had after having chemotherapy, saying, “You come off of the steroids, and I just found that the hardest part. It was like detoxing. I was shaking, I couldn’t talk, and I remember I had to go do a voiceover and it was just so, so difficult.”

Despite what she was going through, Bates didn’t want to tell anyone, telling Yahoo Lifestyle, “I’m very open and direct so it was hard for me not to talk to people about it. But at the same time I withdrew from all of the activities that I had in my life.”

Kathy Bates’ Breast Cancer Journey

After her private health journey, Bates decided it was time to start opening up and try to help others going through the same thing. “I don’t think I really came out about being a cancer survivor until I developed breast cancer in 2012.”

When Bates was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy to remove both breasts, and she had 19 lymph nodes removed as well, a common treatment method when the cancer has spread beyond the breasts. The lingering pain this all caused her left her feeling worse than when she faced ovarian cancer.

Then Bates developed a condition that breast cancer patients are at higher risk for if they have lymph nodes removed from under the arm. She developed lymphedema, a swelling condition that can affect the arms, legs or other areas of the body near the lymph nodes removed.

Understanding and Treating Lymphedema

“I was bitter, I was depressed,” she shared. “I thought my career was over, I thought, ‘There’s no way, I’m done, everything is done.’”

Bates, who remains cancer-free, recognized her emotional response to her two diagnoses and lymphedema, and decided to take action, get vocal about her story, and not only raise awareness for early detection, but also help others who were going through similar challenges.

RELATED: Kathy Bates Says Even Holding Up a Book Is Hard Due to Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Surgery

Lymphedema, or chronic swelling, can occur after surgery and radiation treatment for breast cancer. It occurs when the lymph vessels that carry fluid throughout the body are affected and cannot properly dispose of the fluid. This causes fluid build-up and swelling, usually in the arm and hand on the same side as the treated breast.

Obesity & Cancer Risk

Obesity, which means having too much body fat, increases an individual’s risk of developing a range of dangerous health conditions, including several types of cancer. In addition to increasing the likelihood of developing certain cancers, obesity is associated with worse treatment outcomes.

In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Stephen Freedland of Cedars Sinai Medical Center said, “Some of the best data we have is that obesity increases the risk of not just getting prostate cancer, but actually dying from prostate cancer. Obese men are 35 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer.”

The risk is significant and that’s why Dr. Freedland counsels his patients on small, everyday changes they can make in their diet which can lead to weight loss.

“I’ve studied this area for a while,” Dr. Freedland added. “I’ve talked to a lot of dietitians, and amazingly there are just two things I can get the dietitians to agree on: trans fats are bad and simple sugars are not good.”

While obesity or a person’s high weight will not always cause them to develop cancer, other conditions associated obesity, like diabetes and heart disease, can lead to complications from cancer treatment if a person already has cancer. In addition, these conditions can sometimes prevent patients from receiving the recommended first-line therapies, as well as increase a patient’s risk of undergoing surgery.

Dr. Andrea Tufano-Sugarman of NYU Langone Health explained to SurvivorNet the benefits of losing weight.

“While all cancers cannot be prevented,” she said, “losing weight is a great way to reduce one’s risk.”

How Can Diet Affect My Cancer Risk?

Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said that this is especially true for women; they lower their risk of developing breast cancer and endometrial cancer when they lose weight and keep it of.

Even without losing weight, adopting a more nutritious diet can help.

“Food choices, independent of weight loss, may also help to reduce risk,” Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said. “Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet (rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, fish and olive oil) is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. Whereas diets rich in red meat may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal and prostate cancer.”

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---