Kathy Bates on Battling Cancer Twice and Surviving Lymphedema:
‘I Felt That Life Was Over’.
By Mia McNiece
Kathy Bates Cancer Story – Search Videos
In 2003, Bates, then 55, was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer and immediately had surgery, followed by nine months of chemotherapy to treat it, but didn’t reveal her illness to the public.
“I didn’t tell anybody,” she tells PEOPLE. “I continued to work right after the operation, doing Little Black Book with Brittany Murphy. My agent at the time was very old-school and didn’t want me to be the poster child for ovarian cancer. I didn’t want anyone to know, but it really took a lot out of me.”
Then, in 2012 the Memphis native—who got her start in theater and went on to star in films such as Misery, Dolores Claiborne, Fried Green Tomatoes and Titanic—was once again hit with extreme exhaustion and returned to her doctor for an MRI. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to have a double mastectomy because of her family history with cancer.
“My aunt had died from it, my mother had it, my niece had it,” she says. She tested negative for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation that increases a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer. A negative BRCA result is “not a get out of jail free card,” she says.
Now, though she’s cancer-free, Bates says she is dealing with her biggest challenge yet: lymphedema, a disease that’s commonly caused by the removal of lymph nodes during cancer treatment. It causes extreme pain and swelling and has no cure. “It’s a souvenir you definitely don’t want,” says Bates about lymphedema adding after the diagnosis. “I really felt that life was over for me. I probably wouldn’t work again, and I was angry for a long time.”
Then Bates decided to turn her frustration into good by helping raise awareness about lymphedema and became the National Spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN). She’s working on getting a bill passed in New York that will mandate that hospitals have literature to inform patients about lymphedema, and she’s learned to manage her own pain by wearing compression sleeves on her arms and losing 60 lbs. through exercise and a healthy diet.
Today her career is booming, including roles in the new season of American Horror Story and the upcoming film On the Basis of Sex. “Acting is my life force,” she says, adding that she considered getting breast reconstruction but doesn’t want to take time out of her busy schedule for surgery because “I’m having too much fun.”
Her advice to women: Get regular checkups and stay healthy. “Quit taking the damn selfies and worrying about what you look like,” she says. “Instead, keep everything working and in good order.”
Kathy Bates Shares Her Wellness and Weight Loss Secrets: ‘I Do It for Me’ (EXCLUSIVE) Plus, Kathy gets candid about surviving cancer.
By Deanna Barnert September 27, 2024
Kathy Bates, has played some fierce characters over the course of her career, and it turns out, the actress is no slouch herself! In addition to taking home an Oscar, two Emmys, a Tony, and other honors, this warrior has battled ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lymphedema, and like most of us, a lifelong struggle with weight loss.
As we approach Breast Cancer Awareness month, Kathy takes a break from shooting her new series Matlock to get candid about all of it with Woman’s World in an intimate sit-down interview for our cover on sale now (Get your copy here).
Here, the star of Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes, the American Horror Story franchise and so many more shares how she overcame health challenges like cancer and lymphedema, her weight loss secrets and what excites her about her role on the new CBS procedural, Matlock.
The ‘Matlock Cast’: Surprising Facts about Andy Griffith and Crew Beyond the Courtroom
Kathy reflects on her cancer and lymphedema journeys
This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Kathy Bates has a lot to celebrate. Having faced cancer in 2003 and 2012, she’s now fit, fabulous and stronger than ever at 76.
“I don’t know if there’s any easy way to get through it,” Kathy says of surviving chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and a double mastectomy for breast cancer, but she got through both…only to be hit by lymphedema.
What Is Stage 0 Breast Cancer, and What Are the Early Signs Women Should Know? Doctors Weigh In
The chronic condition caused by the removal of lymph nodes, which leads to swelling in the body due to a buildup of lymph fluid, affects 30 percent of breast cancer survivors.
“They removed a lot of lymph nodes when I had my mastectomy, and my arms swelled pretty quickly after surgery,” Kathy shares. “I didn’t know where to go for help. I could only wear men’s shirts and remember feeling that my career was over. It was a dark time. I was enraged.”
Then Kathy found a lymphatic physician, Dr. Emily Iker, and got involved with the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.
“The more I got involved, the better I felt,” Kathy recalls. “I was at least doing something to help other people and using my celebrity for something meaningful. What we’re going through, what we share with each other or with Congress to try to change the laws, is our power. I turned my pain and rage into something useful so I didn’t feel that way anymore.”
Kathy Bates’ Health Journey Summary:
- Two-time cancer survivor Kathy Bates, 76, says her 100-pound weight loss has ” tremendously” helped her acting career.
- She battled ovarian and breast cancers; and even developed the swelling condition lymphedema after having lymph nodes removed during her breast cancer surgery.
- Bates kept her first diagnosis secret for years before deciding to open up and help others going through similar situations.
- Lymphedema usually happens gradually, but some people experience it coming on suddenly. If you have sudden, severe swelling, get in to see your doctor immediately. It could be an infection, a blood clot, or a cancer recurrence, but don’t assume the worst before you are evaluated by your medical team.
- SurvivorNet experts recommend regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management for cancer survivors to lead healthy lives. They may also recommend regular checks for recurrence.
Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates, 76, who previously battled both breast and ovarian cancer, has admitted that her recent 100-pound weight loss has ” tremendously” helped her career.
The two-time cancer survivor, who previously spoke with SurvivorNet about her health struggles, which included lymphedema [a chronic condition that causes swelling in the body due to lymph fluid buildup], opened up about how she’s refrained from overeating to shed pounds in a recent interview with Variety.
Bates, known for her memorable roles in “Titanic,” “Misery,” and “Fried Green Tomatoes,” spoke with the magazine in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 22 first episode date of the new drama series “Matlock” she’s starring in as Madeline Matlock. She admitted, referring to her drastic weight loss and how it’s helped her maintain stamina for work, “It’s helped me tremendously that, over the last six or seven years, I’ve lost 100 pounds.“ I don’t think I’ve been this slim since I was in college.”
Kathy shares the secret to her weight loss
“There’s a hormone that’s released when we’re hungry, and another when we’re satisfied,” Kathy notes. “The way I recognize that second hormone is I have an involuntary sigh. It may not feel like you’ve had enough, so the trick is, you have to push your plate away! It’s hard, but I got excited about the results I was seeing. It took a long time, but I eventually went from a 3X to a size 10.”
Kathy has grappled with her weight throughout her life, but she embraced this mindful eating practice after she became pre-diabetic and lacked the stamina to do her job.
“The idea of ‘willpower’ has become a weapon we use against ourselves—we think we have it or we don’t. So I changed that word to ‘determination,’ which is something I choose to fight for,” says Kathy. “You have to have a life, so there are moments when I’ll overeat. Then I’ll realize my costumes are getting a little tight, so I knuckle down and get determined to be healthy again.
I’m not doing this to fit into a dress or for a boyfriend. I do it for me.”
Kathy Bates, 2024 Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Kathy jump-starts her energy
“A couple of years ago, my doctor gave me an amazing vitamin blend called MitoCORE, which boosts energy production in your cells,” Kathy says. “You’re supposed to take three a day, but geez, I get such great energy out of one. They keep my mood steady, and they’re not these thick, heavy pills that are hard to eat.”
Can’t Break Free of a Midday Slump? Experts Share Quick Energy Boosters and Tips to Wake Back Up
That said, she reminds us that a supplement can only, well, supplement the fuel we are already feeding our bodies.
“I also have to eat right,” she explains. “If I don’t, my energy goes down and my sugar goes haywire!”
Kathy shares her wellness secrets
While Kathy won’t go so far as to say she has a green thumb, she has found joy in becoming an indoor gardener.
“During the pandemic, my niece turned me on to miniature violets,” she recounts. “Every morning, I would go down and see these tiny bulbs going up, and I’d get so excited. Once, I was at Lowe’s and there were these violets that were dying, and I brought them back to life. Reviving and caring for a violet and seeing it grow is similar to reviving my own growth as a healthy, vigorous creature.”
She has also found a positive use for all those screens we surround ourselves with.
“It sounds so childish, but I love my adult coloring book app on my phone,” Kathy confides. “It has beautiful oil paintings, and there are colors that are numbered underneath. I’ll have the TV on with either a nature show or a murder trial. I know it’s strange, but I get addicted to murder cases, so I’ll listen to that and do my painting. It’s so relaxing.”
Kathy talks about her joy squad
“I’ve got a few really close friends that I depend on who get me through life. One friend and I just celebrated our 42nd anniversary as friends,” Kathy says with a smile. “I miss them and often bemoan the fact that here we are spending time—the most valuable asset we have—doing work and not being with the people we love. I get jealous of the time I spend working and when I get into work, I may be cranky…but then I get into character and feel relaxed and like I’m home. I don’t know what’s going to happen to this new role I’m playing, and it’s been magical.”
How to Be a Better Friend + Make New Ones: Experts Share 6 Ways to Boost Your Bonds
When good bacteria go bad: New links between bacteremia and probiotic use
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So, who’s going to win? — What we know going into the final weekend of the presidential race
Election 2024 live updates: Trump, Harris make final push as polls show close race
After traveling to all 50 US states, these are the 6 major cities I have no plans to return to
I’ve been to all 50 US states – and I wish I hadn’t bothered