There’s no one as equally terrifying and hilarious as Kathy Bates, an award-winning actress known for her roles in comedies, dramas, and thrillers.
Currently, Bates plays her most challenging role yet: a two-time cancer survivor living with lymphedema. While this role may not earn her a Hollywood award, her journey has inspired people worldwide.
The 75-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with an incurable lymphatic disease after undergoing multiple surgeries, including the removal of her uterus, breasts, and lymph nodes, feels “blessed” to use her “celebrity to do something that can maybe help people.” Keep reading to learn about this incredible actor’s health journey!
Tennessee-born Kathy Bates is a stage and screen performer, best known for her award-winning appearances in “Misery,” “Primary Colors,” Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” and “American Horror Story: Coven.”
Since starting her career in the early 1970s, Bates has received numerous nominations for her terrifying, dramatic, and comedic roles.
In 2003, just a year after shocking audiences with her nude scene in “About Schmidt” opposite Jack Nicholson, Bates was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Then, in 2012, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, leading to a double mastectomy.
Bates’ health challenges didn’t end there.
‘I went berserk’
“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, the fluid will back up in the affected limb.”
In cancer treatments, lymph nodes are often removed because cancer frequently spreads through the lymphatic system. Without these nodes, excess lymph fluid can accumulate in tissues, causing swelling, usually in the arm and hand.
In an interview with SurvivorNet, the “Dolores Claiborne” star revealed that lymphedema, a side effect of her surgery, was the hardest part of her health journey, even more than cancer.
“I went berserk,” she recounted. “I left the examining room and ran out of the building. I still had my drains in, I was holding a pillow to my chest, and I thought, ‘What am I doing? It’s July, I’m standing out here, it’s hot, I’m still healing, I don’t want to hurt anything.’”
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 done.’”
Although lymphedema is incurable and progressive, the National Health Service (NHS) reports that its major symptoms are manageable through measures that limit fluid buildup.
‘Light inside’
Bates eventually found a lymphedema specialist who helped her cope.
“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 treatments and compression sleeves to manage the pain and swelling in her arms, the “Blind Side” star also found solace in helping others.
Now an advocate for lymphedema, Bates serves as the national spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN), using her platform to raise awareness about 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 emphasized the importance of patients advocating for a proper diagnosis if they’re experiencing symptoms, as lymphedema can often 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 her condition, and she hasn’t let her health issues slow her down.
Bates, who most recently appeared in 2023’s “The Miracle Club,” concluded: “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.”