Christian LeBlanc, who has been playing the character of Michael Baldwin on the popular soap opera The Young and the Restless since 1991, has recently been absent from the show. The 65-year-old actor has been battling a form of blood cancer known as Multiple myeloma.
‘I was diagnosed with cancer around June at Santa Monica’s St. John’s Hospital, a place I had never visited before,’ LeBlanc shared in an interview with the CBS station in New Orleans.
LeBlanc’s fans were the first to notice that one of his eyes appeared strange, leading him to investigate his health further. Prior to this, he had already experienced some symptoms that raised concerns about his well-being.
‘When they put my wedding ring on during filming, it slipped right off without friction. I thought it was an odd occurrence,’ said LeBlanc. He also experienced frequent nosebleeds, which led to the discovery of a tumor in his sinus cavity that was pressing on his optic nerve.
Multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer affecting plasma cells, was diagnosed by his doctors. Despite its prevalence, LeBlanc confesses that he had never heard of it until his own diagnosis.
‘In just two months, I lost 35 pounds in an unhealthy manner. But when they told me to “Eat like it’s your job,” I knew I had to take it seriously,’ LeBlanc revealed.
LeBlanc underwent surgery and immunotherapy treatment, spending a significant amount of time in the hospital.
Fortunately, LeBlanc’s cancer is now in remission, and he will be returning to The Young and the Restless for the show’s Thanksgiving episode. He initially joined the cast in 1991, left in 1993, and made a comeback in 1997. Throughout his career, he has won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series three times.
In 2021, LeBlanc publicly came out as gay and revealed that he has been married to his husband, Sid Montz, for 28 years.
