Jeff Bridges is reflecting on the hardships he faced during his fight against both cancer and COVID-19.

The Only the Brave actor, who first opened up about his lymphoma diagnosis in 2020 and is now in remission, explained that while chemotherapy “worked fast” on shrinking the tumor in his body, the treatment also stripped his health “defenses.”

“That’s what chemo does,” he noted in an interview with People published May 26. “It strips you of all your immune system. I had nothing to fight it. COVID made my cancer look like nothing.”

While battling both at once, Jeff said he felt like he was “dancing” with his “mortality.”

“I was pretty close to dying,” he shared. “The doctors kept telling me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight. You’re not fighting.’ I was in surrender mode. I was ready to go.”

According to the outlet, Jeff was able to find himself back in better health after he began convalescent plasma therapy—a process in which blood from those who have recovered from a specific illness is given to patients who are fighting that illness.