Updated Dec. 24, 7 a.m. PT: Matt Damon‘s father, Kent Damon, 74, has lost his battle with cancer.
Kent had been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer for nearly a decade. The Boston Globe reports that he died on Dec. 14, just days after Matt made a red carpet appearance and asked fans for their prayers for his dad.
Original story:
Matt Damon’s father has been battling cancer for several years now. He’s been in and out of remission and seemingly putting up a fight against the rare form of blood cancer that’s plagued him for the better part of a decade.
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But now, Damon has been missing public appearances, choosing instead to stay close to his dad, and it’s possible that it’s a sign 74-year-old Kent Damon is starting to lose his fight.
“It’s been a slow unfolding; my dad’s sick, so that’s a process we’re going through,” Matt told Extra on Monday. “We’ll take any prayers you got, so throw ’em up there.”
Matt’s father has multiple myeloma, a very rare type of plasma cell cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s an unusual disease in that not everyone even shows symptoms, but cancerous myeloma cells continue to multiply until there are more of them than of healthy plasma cells. This leads to the body being unable to fight infections.
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The Damon family is no stranger to this disease. Kent has been fighting it for many years, and back in 2011, Matt told WCVB they would “fight [the disease] to a standstill.” They appear to have done that and then some.
We hope Matt’s absence from the public eye isn’t a sign Kent’s disease is getting worse. The two have a close father-son relationship, which was really apparent when Kent told WCVB how proud he was of his son.
“He’s all you could ever ask for in a son,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful ride being his dad.”
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Cancer is an unfathomably difficult disease to battle, and regardless of whether it’s a battle you or someone you know has faced, I’m sure you can understand Matt’s pain. So, if the Damons need those prayers, hopefully you can send some their way.
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