Bruce Campbell revealed that his doctor has given him a prognosis of about five years to live following his cancer diagnosis in March.
The “Evil Dead” star shared the update on his cancer battle on “The Adam Carolla Show” Wednesday, but he made clear that he does not plan to let his illness ruin his remaining years.
“I’ve decided pretty specifically though to live with it, not die from it,” the actor-director said. “Because you can go down a massive rabbit hole, the cancer rabbit hole is enormous … I won’t touch it with a 10- foot pole.”
He did not disclose what type of cancer he has, but told the podcast host that “the current thing is a five-year deal.”
“So, the prognosis is you have five years to live?” Carolla clarified.
“Give or take,” Campbell said, noting that this was a recent development.
Campbell announced his cancer diagnosis back in March. He said then that his cancer was treatable not curable but did not provide a timeline. The actor ensured fans that he was “a tough old son-of-a-bitch” and planned to be around for awhile.
And, on Wednesday, the actor told Carolla about how the cancer diagnosis has affected him more mentally than physically.
“It’s really aside from the medical crap, it’s a fascinating thing that takes place because it messes with your head too,” he said. “Cancer creeps me out because of the ancillary stuff that it does. It’s not just — you don’t die from cancer. You die from what cancer does to you.”
“It’s a whack-a-mole life, literally,” he continued. “Cancer compromises s–t inside your body. So then you go, ‘deal with that,’ so then you deal with that. And then you sort of wait for it to then compromise something else. Meanwhile, you’re trying to put out the whole fire.”
Campbell expressed a similar sentiment to TheWrap on Friday, sharing, “My phrase is ‘It’s a whack-a-mole-life.’ Cancer’s kind of weird. It invades your world, does stuff to you and then you address it. So, half the time you’re not even dealing with cancer, per se. You’re dealing with … how it mugged you in an alley. And then, you have to deal with being mugged in an alley.”
Per Campbell, this health journey has given him “appreciation for the present,” adding, “Appreciation and gratitude has come out of nowhere, it’s very hard to describe.”
Watch his full comments below.
Campbell is currently bringing his latest film, “Ernie & Emma,” on an 18-date tour of Alamo Drafthouse locations that kicks off Friday in Los Angeles and wraps up Nov. 14 in Littleton, Colo.
“I got a movie to promote,” he said. “I’m free and clear when I promote this movie mentally.”
