After being noticeably absent from the Genoa City landscape for months, Y&R’s Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael) confirmed in a TV interview with the CBS affiliate news station in New Orleans, his hometown, that he has been battling cancer. “I was diagnosed around June at St. John’s Providence Hospital [in Santa Monica, CA],” the actor recounted. “I’ve never spent a day in the hospital in my 65 years until this year.” LeBlanc detailed the troubling signs that made him think there was something wrong – the wedding ring he wore in character easily fell off his finger and he was experiencing nosebleeds. It was when he sought medical attention for one of his eyes feeling “a little wonky” – which he says fans had pointed out to him – that a tumor was discovered in his sinus cavity and was “pressing on” his optic nerve. Multiple myeloma, a “common cancer” was the diagnosis, the same cancer affecting Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise. After surgery, a hospital stay and undergoing immunotherapy treatment, LeBlanc “lost 35 pounds in two months … and not in a good way,” he shared. “But when they said, ‘Eat like it’s your job,’ I said, ‘I was raised to fulfill this promise.’ ” LeBlanc happily reported that his cancer is in total remission and Michael will first be seen again on air for Y&R’s Thanksgiving show.
