Art Through & After Cancer
- Actor and cancer survivor Jeff Bridges will debut his first hometown photography exhibition, “Jeff Bridges-Pictures,” at Santa Barbara’s Tamsen Gallery from January 18 to April 30, 2026.
- Bridges was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and, roughly a year later, he was declared cancer-free in September 2021. Throughout his treatment, he also spent an extended period in the hospital battling COVID-19, as the therapy had compromised his immune system.
- He underwent chemotherapy to treat his disease. Other treatment options for lymphoma include active surveillance, radiation therapy, and bone marrow transplantation.
- 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.
- Creating or listening to music—and engaging in any form of artistic or creative expression—can be a powerful way to cope with cancer or other health challenges.
- You can find more survivor stories in SurvivorNetTV’s Music and Art: Reflecting On Your Journey, an episode from our original series SN & You that shares cancer survivors’ stories about the importance of music and art during their cancer journey.
Bridges, a 76-year-old dad of three who beat non-Hodgkin lymphoma, will have his “Jeff Bridges-Pictures” exhibition at the art gallery, beginning on January 18th, 2026.
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The gallery shared the news alongside a black-and-white poster of Bridges holding his favorite camera, with his head tilted sideways.
The image reads, “For decades, Jeff Bridges has used his Widelux panoramic camera to capture moments between shots in the world of movie making.
“Join us as he shares these highly personal, candid images full of cinematic surprises.”
It’s unclear what photos will be up on display at the exhibition, but for anyone interested in seeing some of Bridges’ work, he offers a variety of archival black-and-white prints up for sale on his official website. The photos on his website are classic silver gelatin prints produced on fiber-based photographic paper.
His website explains how each image is created from a high-resolution drum scan of the original negative, exposed onto paper using a Lightjet 430 laser printer, and developed with liquid photo chemistry.
These prints often include a black border from the Widelux exposed negative camera, however, other versions are also available. All prints are signed and titled by Jeff Bridges, and the prices, which range from $1,200 to $4,500, exclude taxes and shipping.
Bridges’ artwork can be appreciated in exhibitions, online, or in the home if purchased, while his wife, Susan Geston, also showcased her own photography at Tamsen Gallery through December 31, 2025.
Further offering insight into his love for the Widelux camera, Bridges explains on his website, “The Wide-Lux came back into my life on my wedding day. Mark Hanauer took some photographs at our wedding party with one. I really admired them – the way they showed movement and slurred time. There was so much information in the picture – so much to look at. It’s almost as if the camera has peripheral vision – registering multiple stories within a single frame.
“The Wide-Lux is a fickle mistress; its viewfinder isn’t accurate, and there’s no manual focus, so it has an arbitrariness to it, a capricious quality. I like that. It’s something I aspire to in all my work — a lack of preciousness that makes things more human and honest, a willingness to receive what’s there in the moment, and to let go of the result. Getting out of the way seems to be one of the main tasks for me as an artist.”
He added, “The Wide-Lux frame is a lot like the 1:8:5 ratio of a typical movie. Because of its panning lens, it functions as sort of a bridge between still photography and moving pictures.”
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Jeff Bridges’ Cancer Battle
Jeff Bridges was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2020 and started chemotherapy treatment right away. He first went public with his cancer diagnosis on social media in October 2020, saying, “I have a great team of doctors, and the prognosis is good.”
He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma—a cancer affecting lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell integral to the immune system—shortly after the production of “The Old Man” was paused in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bridges, who also battled COVID-19 during his cancer treatment, underwent chemotherapy and ultimately became cancer-free after his tumor decreased in size.
By September 2021, the actor revealed on his blog that his lymphoma had entered
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“The 9″ x 12” mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble,” Bridges wrote. “Covid kicked my ass pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated and feeling much better now.”
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.
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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 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 in an earlier interview. “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.”
Art Through Cancer
Alongside treatment or after beating cancer some people may turn to various artistic outlets (i.e. singing, dancing, painting, crafting) to help them cope with their cancer journey.
RELATED: How I Made It Through Cancer: Painting & Dreaming
Some people also use art to handle feelings of grief after suffering a cancer-related loss. Whenever and however you turn to art, its healing benefits in terms of mental health are well-documented and substantiated.
In fact, Very Well Mind reports that a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association says that less than an hour of creative activity can reduce stress and have a positive effect on your mental health. And that’s true regardless of artistic experience or talent, the author notes.
Meanwhile, Marianne Cuozzo, a three-time cancer survivor, can also attest to the power of art. And despite the fact that cancer has essentially been her whole life, Cuozzo has recognized herself as a lot more than a diagnosis by focusing on her life as a mother and an artist.
Three-Time Cancer survivor Marianna Cuozzo On How Art Helps Her Express Herself
Cuozzo was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1994 at the age of 28. In 1997, she had a recurrence, and then she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. She had a double mastectomy and originally got implants with reconstruction.
But after years of infections, she decided to remove her implants and “go flat.” Her artwork reflects a deeply personal exploration of body image and sexuality. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Cuozzo tells us how she found comfort expressing herself through her work.
RELATED: Watch this Inspiring Film About the Impact Art & Music Can Have on the Cancer Journey
“My artwork is very reflective of my cancer journey,” Cuozzo says. “I’m doing the best I can to feel beautiful in this new body.”
Understanding 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 and those sound like two different categories,” she explained. “But non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises the majority of lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma is a single specific type of lymphoma.”
Sneaky Lymphoma Symptoms Often Lead to a Late Diagnosis
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.
You May Have Side Effects Years After Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment: Here’s What to Watch For
Finding Vitality and the ‘Pathway’ to Resilience
Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests that people working on their mental health practice positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging patients to feel positive and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives.
Dr. Boardman explains them as “pathways to embrace your everyday resilience.” In other words, these are tools people who may be struggling with mental health issues can embrace to help maintain a certain sense of positivity. And those positive feelings can go a long way when people are facing a health challenge like a cancer diagnosis.
Staying Active After a Cancer Diagnosis
According to Dr. Boardman, these three wellsprings of vitality are:
- Connecting. This involves how you’re connecting with others and having meaningful interactions. It involves being a good listener and being engaged with the people around you who you care about.
- Contribution. How are you adding value to the people around you? Are you helping them in ways that feel meaningful to them? This entails contributing/engaging with others in a meaningful way.
- Feeling challenged. Being “positively challenged” could involve learning something new (perhaps by taking a new class or reading an interesting book) and expanding your mind in some way.
“Those are the cores of vitality and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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