A New Lease on Life After Cancer and COVID
- Actor Jeff Bridges, 72, was fighting cancer and COVID last year, but didn’t clue the public in to how close he actually was to death, until now.
- The Dude, as he is lovingly knows from his character in the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski, opened up exclusively to PEOPLE this week to share more of his harrowing health battle.
- People with lymphoma do not always have symptoms, but common ones are: Swollen glands in your neck, armpit or groin, fever, chills, night sweats, and swelling in your stomach.
The Dude, as he is affectionately most known from his character in the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski, opened up exclusively to PEOPLE this week to share more of his harrowing health battle.
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Bridges immediately began chemotherapy treatment, first by infusion, then “oral chemo,” which is a pill form. “They got a cocktail that worked, and oh man it worked fast,” he shared. “That thing just imploded.”
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Enter COVID, which he contracted in January 2021.
The congenial film star was hit hard, as his body was so beaten down from his recent treatment.
“I had no defenses,” Bridges said. “That’s what chemo doesit strips you of all your immune system. I had nothing to fight it. COVID made my cancer look like nothing, he added.”
In extreme pain, he was in the hospital for nearly five months, dependent on help from nurses and oxygen to help him breathe. “I was pretty close to dying,” Bridges admitted. “The doctors kept telling me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight. You’re not fighting.’ I was in surrender mode. I was ready to go. I was dancing with my mortality.”
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Thankfully, Bridges started coming back to life after his doctors gave him convalescent plasma, which uses blood from others who went through an illness to help you recover.
“I started taking baby steps,” he said. “Each day brought more strength and more hope.”
Now in remission, the Los Angeles-born husband, father, and now grandfather, is back at work, which includes his tireless dedication to organizations No Kid Hungry and the Amazon Conservation Team. The author is also big into creating guitars using sustainable wood.
“Who would say, ‘I’d love some cancer and give me a dose of COVID? But my ability to receive all the love and give it was just heightened,” he said, expressing how much more grateful he has for his family these days. “Everything was turned up in the most beautiful way.”
Understanding Jeff Bridges' Cancer: Lymphoma
Lymphoma like leukemia, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is a type of blood cancer. Blood cancers can affect the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that every 3 minutes, one person in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
More specifically, lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that begins in the white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphoma begins when lymphocytes develop a genetic mutation that makes them multiply much faster than normal. This mutation also forces older cells that would normally die to stay alive. From there, the quickly multiplying lymphocytes collect and build up in your lymph nodes, the small glands in your neck, armpits, and other parts of your body.
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
There are more than 40 different types of the disease. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the main two sub-categories with the latter, which is what Bridges had, being more common.
The type of white blood cells linked to the disease determines the distinction. If doctors are unable to detect the Reed-Sternberg cella giant cell derived from B lymphocytesthen the cancer is categorized as non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
You might be at a higher risk for lymphoma if you:
- Have been infected with the HIV or Epstein-Barr virus
- Had an organ transplant
- Have a family history of lymphoma
- Have been treated with radiation or chemotherapy drugs for cancer in the past
- Have an autoimmune disease
Symptoms
One thing to note about lymphomas is this type of cancer often creeps in quietly, without symptoms. And even when symptoms do show up, they don't necessarily point directly to cancer. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Elise Chong, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, explained that lymphoma symptoms could be difficult to detect.
Sneaky Lymphoma Symptoms Often Lead to a Late Diagnosis
"The symptoms of lymphoma, especially if you have a low-grade lymphoma, often are no symptoms," Dr. Chong explained. "People say, but I feel completely fine, and that's very normal."
People with lymphoma do not always have symptoms, but common ones are:
- Swollen glands in your neck, armpit or groin
- Fever
- Chills
- Night sweats
- Unexplained weight loss
- Feeling tired
- Swelling in your stomach
No matter what, it's important to communicate anything unusual happening to your body with your doctor. Even if there's nothing to worry about, it's good to rule out the possibility of more serious issues.
Contributing by SurvivorNet staff.
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