Jeff Bridges says his cancer is in 'remission,' details battle with COVID-19

Bridges said his tumor has "shrunk down to the size of a marble."

September 13, 2021, 2:06 PM

Jeff Bridges shared a promising update in his cancer battle with fans on Monday.

"My cancer is in remission -- the 9" x 12" mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble," the "Big Lebowski" actor wrote in a handwritten note posted to his website.

Bridges said he's been seeing a therapist and has been working toward getting off oxygen assistance, which he said he'd needed "to walk around" until recently. He also said the machine sounded like Darth Vader's breathing from the "Star Wars" films.

The Oscar winner also shared that he had been working toward a goal of walking his youngest daughter, Haley, down the aisle at her wedding. Not only was he able to do that, but he shared that they were able to do the father-daughter dance "without oxygen."

Bridges said he's "excited to get back to work" on the upcoming FX on Hulu series, "The Old Man." He said the show is "lookin' good."

The "TRON" star also revealed he fought COVID-19, saying the virus "kicked my a-- pretty good." He said he's double vaccinated and "feeling much better now."

Bridges linked to a previously unpublished entry on his website from March in which he shared more details about his experience with COVID-19 and how he and his longtime wife, Susan Geston, recovered.

While Gaston only spent five days in the hospital, he stayed there for five weeks. His immune system has been weakened from his chemotherapy treatments.

"My dance with Covid makes my cancer look like a piece of cake," he wrote, adding that -- though he had "moments of tremendous pain" -- he "felt happy & joyous most of the time."

"This brush with mortality has brought me a real gift," he added. "Life is brief & beautiful. Love is all around us, & available [at] all times. It's a matter of opening ourselves to receive the gift. We, (I) often want some other gift that life isn't giving us. I mean, who would want to get cancer & Covid? Well... it turns out I would. I would, because I get to learn more about love, & learn things that I never would have if I never got it."

The Hollywood legend first revealed he was diagnosed with lymphoma last October and has kept fans in the loop ever since. In December he told them he had shaved his head and said his tumor had "drastically shrunk" in January.

Bridges and Geston have been married since 1977 and share three daughters together: Isabelle, 40, Jessica, 38, and Haley, 35.