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Jeff Bridges recently spoke about the health scares he faced due to COVID-19 and cancer. Bridges, 72, announced in 2020 that he was diagnosed with lymphoma. However, in early 2021, the actor also caught COVID-19 during his chemotherapy sessions.
While speaking to E!News about his health battles, Bridges explained:
"The chemo wipes out your immune system and when COVID hit me, I had nothing to fight it. I was just really at death's door a couple of times there. I remember the doctors saying to me, 'Jeff, you gotta fight.'"
Recalling those days, Bridges stated that he was "in surrender mode" but he successfully changed his mindset due to his family and doctors who "brought me back."
Jeff Bridges was diagnosed with a foot-long tumor in his abdomen in October 2020. Taking to Instagram, the actor shared a note with his fans about his diagnosis. He wrote:
"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."
Exploring Jeff Bridges' health battles with cancer and COVID-19
Jeff Bridges reportedly noticed his abdominal tumor one morning while exercising at home. While speaking to People Magazine about being diagnosed with cancer, Bridges reflected:
"I had a 12-by-9-in. tumor in my body. Like a child in my body. It didn't hurt or anything."
Jeff Bridges also added that as he completes his chemotherapy sessions, he feels "terrific."
The chemotherapy treatment reportedly shrunk the outsized tumor. While sharing more about it, he told People Magazine:
"They got a cocktail that worked, and oh man it worked fast. That thing just imploded."
He was undergoing long-acting monoclonal antibody therapy as his doctors suggested the same.
What is an abdominal tumor?
Abdominal tumors develop on the wall of the stomach or small intestine. It may not cause any symptoms in the beginning and can be located accidentally during a regular check-up.
While there are no initial symptoms, this type of cancer can show symptoms like throwing up blood, tarry bowel movement, red stool, and low count of red blood cells. Another common symptom could be extreme tiredness and weakness.
According to the American Cancer Society, this type of cancer can also cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, feeling full without eating too much, loss of appetite, weight loss, and swallowing issues.
Some tumors can also obstruct the passage of food through the stomach. This can also cause pain and extreme vomiting.
According to Jeff Bridges, his battle with COVID-19 was harder than cancer. While speaking to E! News, he said dealing with cancer seemed like a "piece of cake" for him compared to COVID-19. The actor said:
"It turns out that COVID made my cancer look like a piece of cake. So it knocked me out. It was a bizarre experience. In times like that where you're close to death man, I mean they didn't know if I was going to make it a lot of times."
Speaking further, Bridges opened up about how people with low immunity have been facing a lot due to COVID-19.
"Not everybody understands what immunocompromised people are going through right now."
While Jeff Bridges is doing well right now, he has urged immunocompromised people to combat COVID-19 with every safety precaution possible.
