Kathy Bates is an amazing actress who can be both scary and funny. She has won awards for her roles in comedies, dramas, and thrillers.
Right now, she’s playing her hardest role yet in real life: a two-time cancer survivor living with lymphedema. This role might not win her a Hollywood award, but she has become an inspiration to people all around the world.
At 75 years old, Kathy Bates has gone through a lot. She had her uterus, breasts, and lymph nodes removed, and then she was diagnosed with an incurable lymphatic disease. Despite all this, she feels “blessed” to use her fame to help others. Keep reading to learn about Kathy Bates’ amazing health journey!
Kathy Bates was born in Tennessee and is famous for her work on stage and screen. She is best known for her award-winning roles in movies like Misery, Primary Colors, Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell, and the TV show American Horror Story: Coven.
Since starting her career in the early 1970s, she has been nominated for many awards. Kathy Bates is recognized for her roles that can be terrifying, dramatic, and funny.
In 2003, just a year after surprising everyone by appearing completely naked in her role opposite Jack Nicholson in “About Schmidt,” Kathy Bates found out she had ovarian cancer.
Then, in 2012, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which led to a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts).
Unfortunately, Kathy Bates’ health troubles didn’t stop there.
“Then I got something called lymphedema,” she told Kelly Clarkson on her show in 2019. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but for cancer, they remove lymph nodes. I don’t care where in your body. If your lymph system is damaged, oftentimes the fluid will back up in the affected limb.”
This makes the complex medical issues Kathy Bates has faced easier to understand.
When treating cancer, doctors often remove lymph nodes because cancer can spread through the lymphatic system. When these nodes are gone, extra lymph fluid can build up and cause swelling, usually in the arm and hand.
In an interview with SurvivorNet, Kathy Bates, known for her role in “Dolores Claiborne,” shared that the hardest part of her health journey wasn’t cancer, but the lymphedema, which is a side effect of her surgery.
“I went crazy,” she said. “I left the examining room and ran out of the building. I still had my drains in, was holding a pillow to my chest, and I thought, ‘What am I doing? It’s July, it’s hot, I’m still healing, and I don’t want to hurt myself.’”
The “Fried Green Tomatoes” star added: “I was bitter, I was depressed. I thought my career was over. I thought, ‘There’s no way, I’m done, everything is over.’”
Even though lymphedema is incurable and gets worse over time, the National Health Service (NHS) says its main symptoms can be managed by taking steps to reduce fluid buildup.
But then she found a lymphedema expert who helped her manage the condition.
This version makes the medical issues and emotional struggles Kathy Bates faced easier to understand.
“I went to her, still angry, told her all of my tales. And she said, ‘Well, that’s all in the past, and now you’re going to begin the rest of your life.’” Speaking of her doctor, Bates continued: “Some people just have light inside.”
In addition to her treatments and compression sleeves to manage the pain and swelling in both of her arms, the Blind Side star also found healing in helping others.
Now an advocate for lymphedema, Bates – acting as the national spokesperson for Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN) – uses her profile to bring awareness to the condition. “It’s estimated that 10 million people in this country suffer with it,” she told Clarkson. “That’s more than ALS, muscular dystrophy, MS, Parkinson’s and AIDS combined.”
Bates also shared with Clarkson that it’s crucial for patients to push for a concrete diagnosis if they’re not feeling well. Mostly because lymphedema can go unnoticed by doctors. “Nobody knows about it and especially if we’re big girls and we go to a doctor and say, ‘I don’t feel right, my legs are swelling’ they say, ‘Oh, just go have a salad,’” she explained.
Fortunately, the star of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret found a support system to help her manage and she hasn’t let her health slow her down.
Bates, who most recently appeared in 2023’s The Miracle Club, added: “I didn’t want to have cancer…and I really don’t want to have lymphedema…I feel blessed [to have the condition] because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be in a position to use my celebrity to do something that can maybe help people.”
Kathy Bates is so inspiring and we can’t think of a better way to use fame for good!
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