Jeff Bridges' Cancer Battle
- Actor Jeff Bridges, who bravely fought non-Hodgkin lymphoma and COVID-19, has revealed the symptoms he initially dismissed before getting diagnosed with cancer— itchiness, night sweats, and what felt like an unusual ‘bone” in his stomach.
- 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.
- 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. However, he was able to beat COVID-19 after his hospital stay and his cancer went into remission soon after he underwent chemotherapy treatments.
- Bridges 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.
Speaking on a recent podcast episode of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson,” Bridges said he also first noticed something unusual prior to his itchiness symptoms and night sweats. He explained that before he went to Montana with his wife Susan Geston to film the “The Old Man,” he was doing some stomach exercises on the floor, and felt what he though was possibly a “bone” in his stomach.
Read MoreHe recalled his wife telling him “you ought to get that checked out,” but he felt fine overall because “it didn’t hurt,” so they continued on with their travel plans.View this post on Instagram
“We go to Montana for two months, hiking around … come back and we’ve got two weeks before ‘The Old Man’ is going to start up again. I said, ‘I better get that thing checked out.’ [I] check it out … I’ve got a nine by 12-inch mass in my stomach,” Bridges explained.
“And I’ve been thinking of the “Old Man” doing all those fight scenes with this thing in my stomach.”
Bridges admitted he didn’t experience any pain leading up to the diagnosis, but he did suffer from night sweats and itchy shins.
“In Montana, I would have night sweats. And I said, ‘oh that’s because it’s hot and humid, and I’m sweating at night’ and my shins itched … and it felt so great to scratch them. Two signs that you have lymphoma,” he continued.
“So I get the thing removed … this incredible doctor, so gifted. It’s a lymphoma cancer … and they had a very hard time figuring out what cancer it was and what was the right cocktail, you know, medicine for it. And they gave me this one thing they tried and the thing just imploded. Because it wasn’t something you operated on.”
“You had to find the cocktail [of medical treatment]. It shrunk down to the size of a pea. And it’s remained that way. I have MRI’s every once in a while,” he noted, before looking back on how he was diagnosed with Covid-19 soon after.
He said the treatment he underwent “stripped” down his immunity and “Covid made that cancer look like nothing.”
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.
Expert Resources On Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- All About Biopsies to Diagnose Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Bispecific Antibodies Deliver One-Two Punch to Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- All About Follicular Lymphoma: A Common Type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: It’s More Than Just One Type
- Could New Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Drugs Mean Less Chemo in the Future?
- Could Weed Killer or Radiation Exposure Increase Your Risk for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?
- CAR-T Therapy is a Game-Changer for Common Type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
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 Bridge’s 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.
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.
Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk
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.
Screening for Lymphoma
“Screening is a test we do with the goal of detecting lymphoma in a very early state,” Dr. Elise Chong, medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, tells SurvivorNet. “For something to be a good screening test, we need to see that the screening helps people live longer, and helps people have better outcomes.”
Doctors currently don’t have evidence showing that finding lymphoma early helps people live longer. “That’s the second part of screening that we need to see,” Dr. Chong adds. “Because we don’t meet those two criteria, we don’t have a good screening test for lymphoma yet, although people are certainly working on this.”
What Are Your Risks?
“The patients who are diagnosed with lymphoma early, typically it’s luck,” Dr. Chong says. They may have had a symptom that made their doctor check them, or the cancer showed up on a scan or blood test that was done for another reason.
Until an effective screening test does become available, you can increase your odds of finding lymphoma early by knowing whether you’re at risk, and staying alert for symptoms.
You might be at higher risk for this cancer 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
Let your doctor know about these risks, so he or she can keep a close eye on you. You may need more frequent checkups and tests.
Also watch out for lymphoma symptoms. The most common ones are:
- Swollen glands in your neck, armpit, or groin
- Fever
- Chills
- Night sweats
- Weight loss without trying
- Feeling tired
- Swelling in your belly
Many different conditions, including infections, cause these same symptoms. So don’t panic if you have them. It’s most likely something more benign, but still worth getting checked out. It’s also a good idea to see your doctor for any unusual symptoms, even if they’re not on this list.
How Doctors Diagnose Lymphoma
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.
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.
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.
Advocating for yourself is important when you’re trying to get an accurate diagnosis. If you have persistent symptoms that look like lymphoma and your doctor hasn’t sent you for a biopsy, it might be worth seeking out a second opinion.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
