Good News for The Dude!
- Actor Jeff Bridges, 71, announced Monday that his cancer is in remission.
- Bridges revealed that as he was fighting lymphoma he contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized for five weeks.
- The actor said that he has required oxygen assistance to be mobile, but that recently with the help of a therapist he was able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding without oxygen.
Bridges broke the news of his cancer in October 2020 via social media. He announced his lymphoma diagnosis saying, "I have a great team of doctors, and the prognosis is good." He also thanked his followers for their "prayers and well wishes" and threw in a friendly reminder to vote.
Read More“Covid kicked my ass pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated & feeling much better now.”
He also shared that despite needing oxygen assistance to walk around until recently, he managed to ditch the device for his daughter Hayley’s wedding after working out with a therapist.
“I had a goal walking my daughter, Hayley, down the aisle,” Bridges wrote. “Thanks to [his therapist] Zach & my terrific medical team, I was able to, not only walk Hay down the aisle, but do the father/Bride dance with her WITHOUT OXYGEN.”
And while he just released this exciting news today, Bridges also published a previous entry today that he wrote back on March 28, 2021, which detailed his battle with COVID-19.
“On January 7th I get a letter, from the place where I”m getting my chemo infusion for the cancer. The letter tells me I may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus at their joint,” Bridges wrote. “Soon after, my wife Sue and I share an ambulance to the ICU. We both got the ‘Rona.”
He goes on to share that while his wife spent five days in the hospital, he was there for five weeks.
“The reason I’m there so long is because my immune system is shot from the chemo. My dance with Covid makes my cancer look like a piece of cake,” Bridges wrote. “This brush with mortality has brought me a real gift… It’s a matter of opening ourselves to receive the gift. We, (I) often want some other gift that life isn’t giving us. I mean, who would want to get cancer & covid? Well… it turns out I would. I would, because I get to learn more about love, & learn things that I never would have if I never got it.”
What is Lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that begins in the white blood cells called lymphocytes. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, about 90,390 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021 8,830 cases of Hodgkin lymphoma and 81,560 cases of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
We don’t know the specific type of lymphoma that Bridges has, but it’s important to note there are more than 40 different types of the disease. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the main two sub-categories with the latter being more common. The type of white blood cells linked to the disease determines the distinction. If doctors are unable to detect the Reed-Sternberg cell a giant cell derived from B lymphocytes then it is categorized as Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
You might be at a higher risk for lymphoma 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
RELATED: Finding Lymphoma Early: Do you Know the Symptoms and Risks?
People with lymphoma do not always have symptoms, but common ones are:
- Swollen glands in your neck, armpit or groin
- Fever
- Chills
- Night sweats
- Unexplained weight loss
- Feeling tired
- Swelling in your stomach
What is Blood Cancer?
Lymphoma like leukemia, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is a type of blood cancer. Blood cancers can affect the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that every 3 minutes, one person in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
What is a Blood Cancer How is it Different?
University of California at San Francisco hematologist-oncologist Dr. Nina Shah has previously told SurvivorNet that having a blood cancer generally means your bone marrow is not functioning correctly which can lead to conditions like anemia a deficiency of healthy red blood cells.
“Or you can have low platelets, which makes it possible for you to bleed easily. Or your immune system is not functioning correctly. And you can have infections that most people won't have. One cell got really selfish,” said Dr. Shah. “And decided that it needed to take up all the resources of everybody else. And, in doing so, took up space and energy from the rest of the body.”
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