Jeff Bridges Reveals Tumor Down To ‘Size Of A Marble’ In Positive Health Update

May 26, 2023

Jeff Bridges is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. As the recipient of numerous awards, honors and accolades, it’s no surprise that Jeff has maintained a successful career for the majority of his life. Along with that, he has also found everlasting love with his longtime wife.

Jeff was born on Dec. 4, 1949, in Los Angeles, California, into a home of celebrities. He is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and actress and writer Dorothy Bridges. Jeff’s older brother, Beau, is also an actor. Growing up with such a talented and esteemed family, Jeff learned the ins and outs of the entertainment industry early on, touring alongside his father for stage productions and even appearing alongside him and Beau in the television series “Sea Hunt.”

Jeff’s career only escalated from that point on, as he went on to star in a plethora of critically acclaimed productions. A handful of the many films Jeff has starred in include “Crazy Heart,” “True Grit,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Iron Man.”

His wife, Susan Geston, is someone who also has experience in the entertainment industry as she had a brief acting and producing career. She appeared in "Forbidden Zone" in 1980 and was an associate producer on "Cold Feet" in 1989.

While the actor has had his fair share of success, he has also faced a few hardships during his lifetime. In October 2020, he announced that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Almost a year later, Jeff said his cancer was in remission.

Now, the acclaimed actor has even more good news to share concerning his health condition.

In October 2020, Jeff announced he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

The 73-year-old actor broke the news to his followers on social media and 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. I'm starting treatment and will keep you posted on my recovery."

In an interview with AARP in May 2023, Jeff reflected on the health challenges he faced in recent years. He said he first began to feel something was amiss in March 2020 while on the set of “The Old Man,” but put off the concerns for as long as he could.

“I’m hiking and feeling great. My shins really itch, and I think, Oh, I just got, you know, dry skin. Then I had night sweats, but thought, That’s just hot summer nights. It turns out those are lymphoma symptoms,” he said and added doctors later found he had a 9-by-12-inch tumor. 

Filming was halted as Jeff underwent chemotherapy. “It was slow at first, as they worked to find the right chemo cocktail for me,” he said. Then, bad news hit in January 2021. 

“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.”

Jeff was hospitalized for five weeks, during which he couldn’t breathe without an oxygen feed, walk or even turn over on his own. “For me, cancer was nothing compared to the COVID,” he said. 

While the health challenges Jeff faced seemed insurmountable, the actor was determined not to give up all hope, particularly with his daughter’s wedding just around the corner.

Using lessons in stoicism he learned from colleagues on the set of “The Old Man,” Jeff settled into an acceptance of his situation.

“For me, in that hospital bed, the obstacle was death. And that was the way. I kept thinking, Here’s the problem, you know? Here’s the challenge. I asked myself, ‘How are you going to go about it?’ And I thought, I’m a dancer, man, and I’m a musician. I’m going to jam with this situation, you know?” he told AARP.

He added: “What I really felt at the time was love. Love was certainly magnified for me during this time. Not only from the people around me, but also the love in my own heart for them. So what I did was more like giving in to love, you know?”

Among the loved ones who never left his side throughout the entire ordeal was his beloved wife, Geston.

“My wife Sue was my absolute champion,” he gushed. He added she was initially diagnosed with COVID as well, but returned to his bedside as soon as she recovered. “She really fought to keep me off a ventilator. I didn’t want to be on it, and the doctors didn’t necessarily want that. But Sue was adamant,” he remarked.

Doctors treated Jeff by utilizing a method called “convalescent plasma,” in which plasma from other survivors of COVID which had developed natural antibodies to the virus, were transfused into the patient. 

Using a chemotherapy infusion, followed by an oral chemo protocol, doctors were able to maneuver his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma into a relatively quick remission and he was finally able to leave the hospital to recuperate for months at home. 

In the comfort of his home with his wife by his side, he also began physiotherapy to enable him to stand longer than usual. This was so he could walk his daughter Hayley Bridges down the aisle for her wedding in August 2021. 

“A lot of getting better was a matter of setting really small goals,” Jeff told AARP. “At first they’d say, ‘How long can you stand?’ For a while, my record was 45 seconds before I’d collapse. And then they were saying: ‘Oh, look, you’re standing for a minute! That’s so cool, now can you walk 5 feet?’ ”

The results exceeded even his own expectations. 

“It turns out I not only got to walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance (to Ray Charles’ ‘Ain’t That Love’). That was terrific,” he told the Independent.

The star happily revealed to AARP that his tumor had now shrunk down “to the size of a marble,” enabling him to head back to work on filming the second season of “The Old Man.”

On May 11, 2023, he revealed on Instagram that he had recovered from a second bout of COVID.

“You may have heard about my first bout of COVID-19, but many don’t know that I had it a second time late last year. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first go-around,” he wrote.

Despite the uncertainties of life, Jeff is determined to carry on doing what he does best. 

“I didn’t think I’d ever work again, really. So at first I said, ‘Well, we’ll see.’ But eventually that became, ‘Maybe I can.’ I have to admit that I was still frightened of going back to work. Then I began to think of my recovery as a gift being presented,” he told AARP. 

What are your thoughts on Jeff Bridges’ health scare? Are you glad he’s taken tremendous steps in his recovery? Let us know and be sure to pass this on to all the fans of “The Dude” you know.