Hall Teases about New "Dexter"
- Michael C. Hall, 50, sits down with NME in a new interview and discusses the upcoming Dexter revival, suggesting there may be more episodes to come.
- Hall was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010, after experience flu-like symptoms; early symptoms of lymphoma may include swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss.
- Coping with a cancer diagnosis can be difficult and painful, and emotions like grief and depression may be present; working with an oncological social worker or psychologist can help.
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Hall’s Cancer Battle
Michael C. Hall was diagnosed with a blood cancer, Hodgkin Lymphoma, in 2010. The actor had been experiencing cold-like symptoms prior to his diagnosis. Some early symptoms of lymphoma can present as fatigue, unexplained weight loss, night sweats and fever.
The 2010 Golden Globe winner had chemotherapy to treat his lymphoma. Common lymphoma treatments include medication, radiation therapy and sometimes stem-cell transplant.
Hall spoke with The Daily Beast about his lymphoma treatment path, saying, “Along with the diagnosis came the assurance that my prognosis was really good if I just decided on a course of treatment and just did it. I was never in a 50/50 life or death proposition. It was scary, but I wasn't really frightened. I was more just interested in finding out the answers to questions surrounding what I needed to do and eager to do them in terms of treatment."
Finding Lymphoma Early Do you Know the Symptoms and Risks?
Finding Continued Success After Cancer
We admire how Hall has continued to triumph and find ongoing career success after beating his Hodgkin lymphoma. Focusing on the good, and keeping a positive attitude can help tremendously during and after the cancer battle. Staying hopeful, being grateful, and thinking in terms of the “big picture” and what’s to come in life, can help make the cancer journey easier.
Some people face many overwhelming emotions after being diagnosed with cancer, which is understandable. Be gentle with yourself during this time, and know that you’re not alone. If you’re experiencing grief, depression, or anxiety, it may be worth speaking with an oncological social worker, therapist, or psychologist. This may be particularly useful if you’re showing symptoms of depression.
Treating depression during cancer is important. Dr. Scott Irwin, the director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai, explains why in an earlier interview: “85% of patients do not get what would be considered a clinical depression. 15% do. For prescribing medications for depression in the context of cancer, I often try to choose medications with the lowest side effect profile.”
“If patients are getting hormonal therapy, there’s particular antidepressants that we can’t use, because they may lower the effectiveness of that hormonal therapy,” says Dr. Irwin. “And so we choose antidepressants that don’t impact the cancer care. Depression and stress make it harder to treat cancer, make it harder to tolerate the treatments. Actually, there’s data that if you have extra stress or depression that you may not recover or you have a higher risk of recurrence, so that in treating the depression, we’re actually impacting the cancer care outcomes.”
Treating Depression After a Cancer Diagnosis
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