Dustin Hoffman, 89, reveals he battled bladder cancer and recalls the devastating moment he learned of his diagnosis with his wife

Dustin Hoffman has revealed he suffered from bladder cancer, recalling the devastating moment he received the diagnosis while having breakfast with his wife.The Oscar-winning actor, 89, said he sensed something was wrong when a woman approached him in a hospital cafeteria, before she confirmed his worst fears.It was reported in August 2013 that Dustin had undergone successful cancer treatment, but the type of cancer has never been disclosed until now.'I had bladder cancer. I'm not ashamed to say it. And it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me,' Dustin said on the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast.Explaining the 'lucky' diagnosis, the Hollywood star added: 'Here I am at a hospital and I had urinary tract disease - which men can get as well. And that's what I thought it was, by the symptoms.'And the doctor said, "Well, just for the hell of it, let's do a scan."' Dustin Hoffman, 89, has revealed he battled bladder cancer and recalled the devastating moment he learned of his diagnosis with his wife Lisa Gottsegen 'I had bladder cancer. I'm not ashamed to say it. And it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me,' Dustin said on the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast, (pictured: Conan) Dustin waited for the results with his wife Lisa Gottsegen, 72, in the hospital cafeteria at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) when he noticed a woman approaching them and immediately sensed that something was wrong, (pictured with LIsa in 2025) Dustin waited for the results with his wife Lisa Gottsegen, 72, in the hospital cafeteria at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) when he noticed a woman approaching them and immediately sensed that something was wrong.'One of those moments you never forget,' he said. 'It's breakfast time in the cafeteria at UCLA. And Lisa and I are sitting having breakfast there. And I see the way she's walking toward me. This is not a good walk.'The father of six continued: 'She doesn't look at me. She just looks down and I say, you know, "Is it cancer?" And she just nods her head.''I stood up and I said, "I got to go outside." 'That was the first thing I said. I had to go outside. I had to get a breath.'Bladder cancer can be life-threatening, particularly if it spreads to other parts of the body. Around 11,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research UK.Dustin admitted that his immediate thoughts were about how little he had expected to develop the disease.'I literally said to myself, as I was going outside, "I'm not a cancer kind of guy."'The actor, whose films include The Graduate, Tootsie and Rain Man, then recalled encountering a cancer specialist outside the hospital building.Dustin recalled: 'The guy comes to me. He's a lovely man. He happened to be outside by accident. And his job was cancer. He heard what it was. And I said, "So what does that mean?"'He says, "Well, you know, it means you have a tumour." He says, "But you're lucky".'And with me, it wasn't connected to anything. That means it was all in itself. So you dodged a bullet.'He recalled being told he could wait several days to have the tumour removed, but wanted the procedure carried out immediately.'No, no, you can wait for a few days,' he remembered being told. 'How about right now?' he replied. Dustin has been busy promoting his new book, Look At Me Dustin said he later underwent the procedure to remove the tumour and was fitted with a catheter. But he struggled to adjust to having the device, admitting that he still felt compelled to get out of bed whenever he needed to urinate.'They put a catheter on me, right when they took the tumour out,' he explained. 'I couldn't lie there and just pee, knowing it was going to [the bag].'I still got on my feet, picked that thing up, and went to the bathroom and pretended like I was going in the toilet. It meant everything to me.'When Dustin's cancer treatment became public in August 2013, his representative confirmed that the disease had been caught early.His publicist Jodi Gottlieb said at the time: 'It was detected early and he has been surgically cured. Dustin is feeling great and is in good health.'She also confirmed that he would undergo preventative treatment to reduce the risk of the cancer returning, but declined to reveal the nature of his diagnosis or provide further details of his treatment.The actor, who has a daughter and an adopted daughter with his first wife, actress Anne Byrne, and four children with his second wife Lisa, has continued working in Hollywood in the years since his cancer treatment.His latest comments come as he promotes his new memoir, Look At Me, published this week, in which he reflects on his life and six-decade acting career.