Jeff Bridges, 72, shared his lymphoma diagnosis with the world in October 2020.
Per E News, he tweeted “I have been diagnosed with Lymphoma. Although it is a serious disease, I feel fortunate that I have a great team of doctors and the prognosis is good. I’m starting treatment and will keep you posted on my recovery.”
However, shortly after his optimistic tweet, he contracted COVID-19. He expressed to E News that his battle with both illnesses was nothing short of difficult.
“The chemo wipes out your immune system and when COVID hit me, I had nothing to fight it,” Bridges told E News. “I was just really at death’s door a couple of times there.”
“I remember the doctors saying to me, ‘Jeff, you gotta fight,'” he continued. “I had no idea what they were talking about. I thought, ‘Man, I’m in surrender mode here.’ With a great medical team, great trainers and my family, everybody brought me back.”
Things started looking up for Bridges when he began convalescent plasma therapy, which transfers blood from individuals who have overcome an illness to those who are still fighting that illness.
In September 2021 he shared that his cancer was in remission and his battle with COVID-19 was long gone.
“Covid kicked my ass pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated and feeling much better,” he wrote on his website. “Maybe that’s the cause of my quick improvement.”
Bridges also announced that he was able to walk his daughter, Haley Roselouise Bridges, down the aisle at her wedding.
“She was getting married to a wonderful guy, Justin Shane,” Bridges wrote. “Thanks to Zach and 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.”
Bridgers sat for an interview with The Observer in September 2022, a year after he won his battle with cancer. He discussed the upside to his health struggles.
“What I learned from that whole experience in hospital was: life is constantly giving us gifts…Because dealing with your mortality, it makes things more precious. It’s a gift, man, to realize that I’ve got eyes to look at all this beautiful stuff in the world. I can feel the temperature of the day on my skin. I’ve got a wife who loves me, my kids, too, and I can bathe in that love. It’s all a gift.”
Bridgers lives with his wife Susan Geston, who he’s been married to for 45 years. They have three daughters together – Isabelle, Jessica, and Haley.
After overcoming this health scare, Bridgers went back to the big screen. His latest work, The Old Man, was released on FX in June 2022 and is now streaming on Disney+.
References
https://www.eonline.com/news/1200002/jeff-bridges-reveals-hes-been-diagnosed-with-lymphoma
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/18/jeff-bridges-hollywood-dealing-with-your-mortality-makes-things-more-precious
https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/jeff-bridges-the-old-man-1235381807/
