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Great news for the American actor and singer! After two long years of battle against lymphoma, the star is now in remission.
It’s a fresh start for the ‘Line of Fire’ star. The actor, suffering from lymphoma – a cancer of the immune system – is now cured.
The actor has always “held the hope of getting out of it”
It’s a relief for the star. After a long battle against his cancer – more than two years – the actor announced in the columns of Closer finally be “healed”.
“I feel wonderful” he told the magazine.
“It was an extremely complicated experience to go through, but I never gave up. I always kept the hope of getting out of it. And I am especially extremely grateful for all the love that I have been able to receive from the public since my diagnosis.” he recounted.
His illness would also have allowed him to take a step back from his life.
“During these kinds of events, you feel like you are constantly being tested. Your whole philosophy and your spirituality are called into question. But this ordeal allowed me to gain in maturity (…) Falling ill made me more aware that life was precious and allowed me to have a clearer, more intelligent vision of what makes our existence“, adds the 72-year-old star.
In October 2020, when he shared the bad news on social media, Jeff Bridges said to himself “lucky to have such good doctors” by his side. Although he was close to death, the actor had not stopped during these two years to give news to his fans.
This fight, he says, has given him a greater appreciation for life, however “brief and beautiful” it may be.
What is lymphoma?
In France, lymphoma is the 5th most common cancer in adults, the 3rd most common cancer in children under 14 and the cancer most often diagnosed in adolescents aged 15 to 17.
Nearly half of blood cancers are lymphomas, cancer of the lymphatic system, with about 80% non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and 20% Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL).
- In Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the lymph nodes swell abnormally, are hard without showing pain or inflammation. To establish the diagnosis, examinations are necessary: blood tests, medical imaging examinations and a biopsy of one or more lymph nodes which will make it possible to establish the diagnosis of lymphoma and to evaluate its extension.
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is not one and the same disease. They constitute a set of diseases whose main point in common is to be cancers of the immune system. Each type is distinguished by morphological, immunological, genetic characteristics, clinical characteristics and its evolution.
“This cancer of the immune system develops when an error occurs in the production of lymphocytes, leading to the production of abnormal cells”details the National Cancer Institute.
The latter can proliferate in two ways: by dividing faster and/or by living longer than normal lymphocytes. The organs are the first “victims” of this cancer: “the size of the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, and more rarely other organs increases”specifies the Curie Institute.
The diagnosis consists of an analysis of the biopsy of the diseased lymph nodes. Imaging examinations (scanners and pet-scanners) are then carried out to assess the extent of the disease in the body.
Consult an oncologist online
Cancers that can be cured
Taken in time, lymphomas can be cured. For Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cure rate is over 80% thanks to treatments based on chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
If caught in time, lymphomas can be cured. For Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cure rate is over 80% with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy treatments. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are treated either by chemotherapy, radiotherapy or biological therapy, or by a combination of all these therapies.
Once the disease is overcome, regular medical consultations allow long-term follow-up.