Jeff Bridges Shares Major Health Updates Amid Cancer Battle, Testing Positive for COVID-19

09/13/2021 02:44 pm EDT

Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges' cancer is in remission. The Big Lebowski star shared the promising health update in a handwritten note on his website on Monday, also revealing his battle with COVID-19 is in "the rear view mirror." Bridges, 71, previously shared with fans that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

In the Monday update, Bridges shared that "lots has gone down since" his last update. The actor went on to write, "my cancer is in remission," revealing that "the 9" x 12" mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble."Bridges also shared a March 28-dated note that he said he "decided to hold back on" sharing until he "got a handle on my COVID." In that note, Bridges revealed that on Jan. 7, he received a letter from the clinic where he was undergoing chemotherapy that said he may have been exposed to COVID-19 at the site. Soon after receiving the letter, Bridges said he and his wife Sue "share an ambulance to the ICU. We both got the 'rona." Sue went on to spend five days in the hospital, with Bridges revealing that he had a five-week hospital stay "because my immune system is shot from the chemo. My dance with COVID makes my cancer look like a piece of cake."

"While I had moments of tremendous pain (screaming singing, a sort of moaning song all through the night) getting close to the Pearly Gates, all in all, I felt happy and joyous most of the time," he said. "This brush with mortality has brought me a real gift - LIFE IS BRIEF AND BEAUTIFUL. LOVE IS ALL AROUND US, AND AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES."

Back on his latest entry, the actor explained that while COVID "kicked my ass pretty good," he is now "double vaccinated" and "feeling much better." He added, "I heard that the vaccine can help folks with long haulers. Maybe that's the cause of my quick improvement." Bridges said that he is now "working out with a great therapist" and they have been "concentrating on getting me off the oxygen assistance," which he said he needed to walk around "until recently." Bridges said that amid his recovery, though, he set the goal of walking his daughter Hayley down the aisle at her wedding without oxygen, a goal he was able to reach.

With his battle with COVID now in "the rear view mirror" and his cancer "in remission," Bridges said he is "excited to get back to work" on the FX on Hulu's thriller series The Old Man. The actor, who shared a sneak peek of the series, said "it's lookin' good." The series is currently targeting a 2022 premiere.

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