Jeff Bridges & Treating Lymphoma
- Actor Jeff Bridges, 73, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Critics Choice Awards Sunday night; the actor recently beat cancer and continues to thrive after battling lymphoma.
- The actor used chemotherapy to treat his disease. Additional lymphoma treatments include active surveillance, radiation, and bone marrow transplant.
- 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.
- 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.
In his speech, The Big Lebowski actor looking dapper in a black suit and bowtie honored his late father, Lloyd Bridges, who died in 1998 at 85 years old. Bridges shared with the audience and viewers that it was his father’s birthday and that he was also wearing his father’s cuff links to honor him on his special day.
Read MoreHe quoted Starman 🥹#JeffBridges#CriticsChoiceAwards pic.twitter.com/67L1Nqgu5I
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He continues, “No, he’s the reason that I’m up here. I can remember him loving showbiz so much, loving acting so much, and as a kid I said, ‘You know, Dad, I’m not sure I wanna be an actor.’ He goes, ‘What are you talkin’ about?’ I said, ‘I wanna do painting maybe, music.’ He said, ‘Jeff, don’t be ridiculous. Being an actor, they’re gonna call on you to do all of those things you’re interested in. And besides that, you’re gonna get to tell all these wonderful stories from all these different perspectives of people that are alive. This is a wonderful profession.'”
Bridges noted how he was so glad he listened to his father, who he lovingly called “the old man.” The actor also praised his family, his siblings, and his wife, Sue. “We’ve been married 48 years,” says the actor with a huge smile. The actor mentioned their daughters, Isabelle, Jessica, and Hayley, adding, “Family that’s kinda what it all comes down to.”
“It really meant a lot,” Bridges told the press after receiving the award. “The fact that it was his birthday is kind of surreal,” says the actor.
Bridges' Battle with Lymphoma & Treatment Methods
Bridges told the press after winning the award, “You know, I was sick for two years with cancer and Covid…” Bridges says, “I didn’t think I was going to make it all.” He credits his family with their loving support during that time. Treatment methods for lymphoma, like the kind Bridges was diagnosed with, can be approached extra aggressively in some instances. The course of treatment will be determined by your medical team.
Bridges first shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in October 2020 on social media. He announced the diagnosis, writing, "I have a great team of doctors, and the prognosis is good."
Bridges treated his lymphoma with chemotherapy and regularly kept fans updated throughout his cancer journey with a colorful online journal and on social media. Lymphoma treatments can include (outlined by the Mayo Clinic):
- Active surveillance. Some forms of lymphoma are very slow growing. You and your doctor may decide to wait to treat your lymphoma when it causes signs and symptoms that interfere with your daily activities. Until then, you may undergo periodic tests to monitor your condition.
- Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy fast-growing cells, such as cancer cells. The drugs are usually administered through a vein, but can also be taken as a pill, depending on the specific drugs you receive.
- Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of energy, such as X-rays and protons, to kill cancer cells.
- Bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, involves using high doses of chemotherapy and radiation to suppress your bone marrow. Then healthy bone marrow stem cells from your body or from a donor are infused into your blood where they travel to your bones and rebuild your bone marrow.
- Other treatments. Other drugs used to treat lymphoma include targeted drugs that focus on specific abnormalities in your cancer cells. Immunotherapy drugs use your immune system to kill cancer cells. A specialized treatment called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy takes your body's germ-fighting T cells, engineers them to fight cancer and infuses them back into your body.
In September 2021, the actor shared on his blog that he'd entered remission. He shared that "the 9" x 12" mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble." Bridges also suffered after contracting Covid in the midst of his cancer battle earlier this year. "Covid kicked my ass pretty good, but I'm double vaccinated and feeling much better now."
Bridges says that thanks to his family’s support, he was able to go back to work to continue filming his project The Old Man.
Radiation Therapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
What are the Different Distinctions Among Types of Lymphoma?
The Oscar winner didn't disclose the type of lymphoma publicly he was diagnosed with, but 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 in an earlier interview.
"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.
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
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