Ernie Hudson battled rectal cancer in 2011. Recalling the dreadful moments, the actor revealed that he had a near-death experience while undergoing the treatment. The Ghostbusters star was diagnosed with the disease twice, once in 1998 for prostate and the second time in 2011.
While Hudson has been cancer-free for more than a decade, the actor shared that acting and being on the sets while getting treated were painful. The Family Business actor claimed that he had gone to the clinic for a general checkup, but the doctor found cancer in his body, and later, things got complicated, which led to the actor "almost dying."
What Did Ernie Hudson Say About His Cancer Treatments?
In a conversation with People Magazine, Hudson revealed that the process was painful while heading toward a cancer-free system. The actor said, "I was in really pretty good shape, but I wanted to make sure that everything was great. I went in to get a series of checkups that it really wasn't time for, but it was a very physical play. And then they found in a colonoscopy; they found this little thing on my rectal area, and then they checked, and it was malignant cancer." 
After getting the knot removed from his rectum area, the doctor advised Hudson to wear an ileostomy bag for the passage of waste from the body. The medical experts said, "'Well, you may not have to have an ileostomy bag, but it's a possibility.'"
Ernie Hudson’s Near Death Experience
After the Oz actor was on the path of recovery, Hudson yet again felt pain, and his stomach felt like a rock. Sharing the moments of nightmare, the 78-year-old said, “I just woke up, and my stomach had just—it was like a rock. And my wife insisted, thank God, that I go to the hospital. Poison was running into my system. If it had been just a couple hours more of me getting there, I probably would've died.”
The actor confirmed that he went under the knife again, and this time he came out fine. Hudson has been healthy ever since and is working on acting projects that are coming his way.
