Kathy Bates Reveals She Was Struggling with Serious Diseases before 60-Lb. Weight Loss

Actress and director Kathy Bates opened up about how shedding 60 pounds has affected her wellbeing.

During a recent interview with Extra, the 70-year-old Emmy Award winner credited her weight reduction to a way of life change.

Bates used her personal experience to help other people. She became the National Spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN).

“I was facing diabetes — it runs in my family — and I really didn’t want to live with that,” she said.

Bates added that she's currently “in the best health I’ve been in in years and I’m so grateful — it’s a miracle.”

The "American Horror Story" actress also shared the important lesson she got from her niece.

“After you eat for 20-30 minutes, you experience an involuntary sigh. It’s communication between stomach and brain telling you you had enough…and what I discovered is if you listen to that sigh and push that plate away for just five minutes, you realize you’re satisfied and you don’t have to eat more.”

The weight loss, as Bates noted, has helped alleviate the symptoms of her lymphedema.

The actress has triumphantly battled ovarian cancer following her diagnosis in 2003. However, in 2012, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I had a double mastectomy seven years ago… and I developed a disease called lymphedema after that," she said.

She added: “We have a lymphatic system in our body and that’s how cancer cells travel… and that’s why surgeons remove lymph nodes… because they are afraid of the cancer spreading to other parts of your body.”

Bates used her personal experience to help other people. She became the National Spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN).

She has been actively committed in lymphedema and lymphatic disease advocacy.

Fans of Bates can look forward to her upcoming film, "The Highwaymen", which is currently in post-production and will be released later this year.