Jeff Bridges has some exciting news to share with everyone – his tumor, which measured 12-by-9-in. in 2021, is now the size of a marble. He recently opened up about his cancer journey in an interview with AARP, which was featured as the cover story for their June/July 2023 issue of AARP The Magazine.
He originally discovered the tumor while doing exercises on the floor in 2020 – at the time, he and his The Old Man castmates were on break as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during those exercises that he felt a bone-like mass in his stomach. Since it didn’t hurt, he avoided seeing a doctor about it.
It wasn’t until he was hiking with his wife, Susan Geston, in Montana that he started to notice other symptoms – his shins started to itch and he had night sweats. While he tried to play those symptoms off as dry skin and hot summer nights, he later learned that they were common lymphoma symptoms.
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Jeff Bridges decided it was time to see a doctor and that’s when the tumor was discovered. By October 2020, he had been diagnosed with cancer and his life depended on the success of chemotherapy. After several months of chemo, Bridges learned that he had contracted COVID-19 – at the worst possible time.
Considering the chemo wiped out his immune system, Bridges didn’t have the means to fight COVID-19 and soon found himself fighting for his life. “I had no immune system to fight it. Chemo had wiped that out, which made it really, really tough,” he said – adding that cancer was nothing compared to COVID.
While Bridges nearly died from COVID-19, his luck seemed to turn around after being treated with convalescent plasma. Later that year, in September 2021, he announced his cancer was in remission – a word every cancer patient loves to hear. It wasn’t long before he was back on set of The Old Man.
“The nurses and doctors were just spectacular, man. They worked hard, they shared information, they appreciated different opinions. It was so focused, so simple, so beautiful,” he said – adding that he was overwhelmed by the amount of love being thrown his way, which ultimately helped keep him going.
Jeff Bridges Calls Wife His ‘Absolute Champion’
“My wife Sue was my absolute champion,” he said of his wife, Susan Geston – who he married on June 5, 1977 and shares three daughters (between the ages of 12-29) with. “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.”
And while the past two years have been filled with obstacles and challenges – not just physically, but mentally and emotionally – the 73-year-old has a lot to look forward to and even more to appreciate on a daily basis. For starters, he has his wife, three daughters, and three grandchildren to live and fight for.
Today, the iconic actor is back with his The Old Man castmates as they film Season 2 of the TV series. The first season was released between June 16 and July 21 of last year and it received plenty of good feedback from critics and fans alike. “I’m so blessed to have this cast to talk to and jam with,” he said.
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Jeff Bridges has enjoyed quite a legendary career in the entertainment industry. He has won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. And he doesn’t seem to be ready to bring that career to an end.
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