'Young and the Restless' Star Eric Braeden Says His Cancer Was Initially Misdiagnosed (Exclusive)
Eric Braeden is sharing details about his health battle. In an interview with ET's Kevin Frazier, the 82-year-old The Young and the Restless star reveals that he was "misdiagnosed at first," before doctors attributed his prostate problems to cancer.
That misdiagnosis inspired Braeden to publicly reveal his health information, in hopes of raising awareness for other men.
"The reason that I'm going public with this is to inform people," he tells ET. "... As you get older, your prostate grows and it impinges the urethra. It means you have to go to the potty a lot more than you want to. That is sometimes the beginning of some trouble."
While he acknowledges that "the word cancer is scary" and hearing his diagnosis was "not good," Braeden doesn't want people's fear of the unknown to stop them from getting checked out.
"I just want men to know not to be scared of that. I want them to know to have your prostate examined, have your bladder examined, have your colon examined," he says. "... Just acquaint yourself with it and be open about it, so that way you take the fear out of people... A lot of men, me included, would not want to know about it. That's nonsense."
In Braeden's case, doctors have told him that he has both low-grade and high-grade cancer cells, the latter of which is being treated with weekly bladder infusions that "stimulates your immune response, hence it kills your cancer cells."
Braeden is currently in his third week of a six-week infusion process, after which he'll have six weeks off of treatment. "At the moment," he says, "I feel pretty good."
Through his treatment, Braeden is continuing to work full-time on the daytime drama. He is also committed to maintaining a positive outlook, something he credits to his background in sports.
"I'm from the world of sports. I don't give up easily. I know a good attitude helps. This is manageable," he tells ET. "... You learn in sports to always look forward to the next time, never give up. You train harder to be better the next time... You look at this now and I said, 'All right, I'll deal with it. How do I improve as quick as I can?'"
Also helping amid his healing journey is the love he's received from his family, friends and fans.
"It's heartwarming," he says of the public support he's experienced. "We have more in common as human beings than what separates us... We're all similar."
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.
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