LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘The Old Man’ star Jeff Bridges has recently shared a positive update about his health as he informed his fans that his tumor has now shrunk to the size of a “marble”. The 73-year-old actor publicly shared in October 2020 about his lymphoma diagnosis. In September 2021, he updated his fans about his remission from the disease.
In the May cover story for AARP, ‘The Dude’ actor has revealed that initially, he had a “9-by-12-inch tumor” in his abdomen which has now reduced “to the size of a marble.” He also had to go through further health trouble as he contracted Covid during his chemotherapy. It was a debilitating process as his immune system was already weak from radiation exposure.
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'Cancer was nothing compared to Covid'
The Oscar-winning actor recalled, “I was doing those fight scenes for the first episode of 'The Old Man' and didn’t know that I had a 9-by-12-inch tumor in my body,” before adding surprisingly, “You’d think that would have hurt or something when they were punching me and stuff.” However, the tumor in itself did not give him any physical pain as he highlights, “It didn’t.”
As soon as he was diagnosed with cancer in late 2020, he began chemotherapy. “It was slow at first, as they worked to find the right chemo cocktail for me,” he said before revealing the worst news that was waiting for him. He continued to narrate, “I got this letter from the chemo place informing me I had contracted Covid. I had no immune system to fight it. Chemo had wiped that out, which made it really, really tough.” He also shared that Covid caused him even more discomfort and added, “For me, cancer was nothing compared to the Covid.”
‘I was in surrender mode’
He also revealed in the interview that at one point, he was about to give up, as he shared, “I remember the doctor saying to me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight. You’re not fighting.’ But I didn’t get it anymore. I just didn’t know how to do that. I was in surrender mode. I’d say to myself, ‘Everybody dies, and this is me dying.’ And I’d hear myself go, ‘Oh, well, here we are, on to the next adventure.’”
Luckily, the doctor could save the 'Crazy Heart' star from the unfortunate end and the only adventure that he will be focusing on now will be his acting career.
'Save his life’
Susan Geston, Bridges’ wife of 45 years, told in an interview with People in May 2022, that initially, they could not grasp their mind around the soon-changing events as they “were kind of numb”. However, early action probably aided in saving the actor’s life as Susan said, “We just immediately went through the steps of doing what needed to be done." Immediately after the diagnosis, the chemotherapy was started. Susan said, "They got a cocktail that worked, and oh man, it worked fast. The thing just imploded.”
Recounting the fateful days, she further added that at one point they didn’t know whether ‘The Old Man’ actor would recuperate. "We didn't know if he would recover,” she said.
Even if the chemotherapy was working fine at first, his condition deteriorated due to Covid. In fact, once the hospital called his wife to inform her about the need for a ventilator. "I said, 'Save his life. No matter what you have to do,’” said the loving wife who braved through the difficult times together.
For the couple who celebrates the wedding anniversary on June 5, "It's all like a bad dream now," and Susan is hopeful about the rosy side as she concluded, "And now's the good dream part."
