Actor Christian LeBlanc has disclosed that his prolonged absence from The Young the Restless was due to a cancer diagnosis, which kept him away from the wildly popular soap opera set for several months.
The 65-year-old TV personality revealed in an interview with CBS affiliate 4WWL in New Orleans that he received a multiple myeloma diagnosis in June. Multiple myeloma is a common kind of blood cancer that arises from an accumulation of aberrant plasma cells in the bone marrow.
LeBlanc stated, “It’s a common cancer, but it moves very quickly.” “Up until this year, I had never spent a day in a hospital in my 65 years of life.”
LeBlanc, who stated that his disease is currently in remission, made his television debut as Michael Baldwin in 1991’s The Young and the Restless. With his dramatic performance, LeBlanc has enthralled viewers for more than 2,300 episodes. His persona even had a cancer diagnosis at one point.
It’s fascinating. You relive the scene where you walk into a doctor’s office and hear the one word: cancer. And I got to play it as Michael Baldwin,” he remarked, considering how life has influenced his work.
LeBlanc claimed that while working on sets this year, he began to notice physical changes in his look. The actor said that in just two months, he quickly dropped 35 pounds. He said that the wedding ring “fell off without friction” the one time he wore it.
LeBlanc reportedly noticed changes to his facial characteristics, such as a sagging eye, and suffered nosebleeds while filming.
Not just him, though, was worried.
LeBlanc grinned and said, “The fans got it,” gesturing to his droopy eye. He claimed that he got a lot of messages from worried people.
LeBlanc eventually learned that he had a tumor in his sinus cavity.
He claimed to have had hospitalized immunotherapy and surgery.
LeBlanc announced that he will be returning to The Young and the Restless now that he has no evidence of disease (NED). On November 23, he will make his next appearance on the show as Michael Baldwin in the American Thanksgiving episode.
LeBlanc stated that he has been collaborating with organizations that serve the cancer community in addition to providing funding for cancer research.
He clarified, “It’s about how you might cope financially with the expenses of being out of work, and how you might deal mentally with it.”
LeBlanc is not the only cast member of The Young and the Restless to receive a cancer diagnosis. The self-made business billionaire Victor Newman’s actor Eric Braeden announced his prostate cancer diagnosis in April.
