“The Young and the Restless” star Christian LeBlanc stunned fans by revealing his cancer diagnosis during an interview on 4WWL on Tuesday.
The soap star revealed his months-long absence from the show was due to the fact he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June. He underwent immediate treatment for the disease. LeBlanc said he is now in remission from the blood cancer that develops in plasma cells inside the bone marrow, according to 4WWL.
“It’s a common cancer but a very fast-moving one,” he said.
LeBlanc explained how quickly his life turned upside down when he received his cancer diagnosis.
“I’d never spent a day in the hospital in my 65 years until this year,” he said.
He went on to indicate there were subtle signs something was wrong with his health, but he had no idea how serious his condition was.
“I put on [his character] Michael’s wedding ring, and I put my hand down, and the ring fell off without friction. I said, ‘What an odd thing.'”
The famous actor noted he lost 35 pounds in two months.
LeBlanc discussed how strange it was to hear fans commenting on his physical changes and being unaware of the cause.
He said he began experiencing nosebleeds on set and could see one of his eyes had begun to droop.
“My eye kind of got a little wonky,” he said. “The fans caught it.”
An appointment with a neurological ophthalmologist uncovered a tumor in his sinus cavity that was pressing down on his optic nerve.
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“I was getting people like, ‘Your eye is a little Jim Carrey that way, a little Michael this way.'” he said.
The actor is now focused on staying in remission and regaining some of the weight he had lost during his health battle. (RELATED: ‘I’ve Walked Some Dark Hallways’: Toby Keith Opens Up About His Cancer Battle)
LeBlanc’s character coincidentally underwent cancer treatment, and he commented on the irony.
“It’s interesting. You play that scene where you hear the word, just the word, in a doctor’s office: cancer. And I got to play that as Michael Baldwin,” he said.
He plans to return to “The Young and the Restless” for their Thanksgiving episode.