Jeff Bridges Says His Tumor Has Gotten Smaller: ‘Recovery Is a Gift’

Jeff Bridges is sharing an update on his health three years after being diagnosed with cancer.

In a conversation with AARP published on Tuesday, Bridges recalled receiving the diagnosis for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2020 after he "felt what seemed like a bone in my stomach." His wife of over 45 years, Susan Geston, urged him to go to the doctor.

At the time, he and his The Old Man co-stars were on a hiatus from filming the FX series due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“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," he told the outlet. "You’d think that would have hurt or something, when they were punching me and stuff. It didn’t.”

Now, Bridges, who also contracted COVID-19 at a chemotherapy facility in January 2021, said his health has made a turn for the best.

He shared that he has gone into remission and his tumor has shrunk “to the size of a marble,” and he is still recovering from the coronavirus.

 “A lot of getting better was a matter of setting really small goals," he said. "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?'"

Despite his progress, Bridges said he thought his career was over.

"I didn’t think I’d ever work again, really," he told AARP.  "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."

Through his journey, he was able to walk his daughter, Hayley Bridges, down the aisle at her wedding in August 2021, and enjoy a father-daughter dance.