Bruce Campbell, the 68-year-old actor best known for the cult Evil Dead franchise, has revealed that his cancer diagnosis gives him a life expectancy of around five years, 'give or take'. He discussed his health battle during a recent appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, where he declined to specify the type of cancer he has.
Campbell's decision to live with cancer
'I've decided though, pretty specifically, to live with it, not die from it,' Campbell told host Adam Carolla. The horror icon said he has deliberately avoided delving into the vast amount of information available about cancer, describing it as a 'massive rabbit hole'.
'You can go into focus groups of 10,000 guys who have exactly what you have. I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole,' he said. Instead, Campbell is channeling his energy into promoting his new film, Ernie & Emma, which he wrote, directed, produced and stars in.
Focus on new film and mental freedom
'I'm moving on. I got a movie to promote. And when I promote this movie, I have nothing. I'm free and clear when I promote this movie mentally,' he said. 'You have to make this decision of, "well, okay, but do I have to stop everything that I'm doing because of this?" Well, no.'
Campbell added that he feels 'perfect' at the moment and is determined not to let his diagnosis halt his life. 'The cancer, it creeps me out because of the ancillary stuff that it does. It's not just, you don't die for cancer. You die from what cancer does to you,' he explained.
Public diagnosis and adjustments
Campbell first publicly revealed his diagnosis earlier this year, stating that his cancer was 'treatable, not curable'. In a social media statement, he wrote: 'I apologize if that's a shock – it was to me. I'm not gonna go into more detail.' He noted that his health would require adjustments to his professional life, with appearances, conventions and work having to 'take back seat to treatment'.
At the time, Campbell expressed hope that he would be well enough by the summer to tour with Ernie & Emma. 'It doesn't change anything for me,' he told the Salem Statesman Journal in March. 'It makes you prioritize 100 percent, and for me, the priority is this movie.'
