Ernie Hudson could have died after a doctor gave him the wrong medical advice.
Ernie Hudson suffered a massive health scare in 2011
The 78-year-old actor - who is best known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the 'Ghostbusters' franchise - had to have an ileostomy bag fitted when he was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2011 but took it off far sooner than he should have done ad had just hours to rush to the hospital or things could have been fatal.
He told People: "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.
"The doctor said 'Well, you may not have to have an ileostomy bag, but it's a possibility.’
I asked him ‘How long do I have to wear this thing? Because I'm working and it's really kind of awkward.’ He told me six weeks. Well, we should have waited three months. He took it off too soon.
"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 former 'Grace and Frankie' star had just finished filming his role in prison drama 'Oz' when he faced further issues and had to have a biopsy as he admitted that listening to his body had ultimately saved his life.
He said: "I had the physical that the studio sort of made you take. When I came back to LA after shooting 'Oz', [my prostate specific antigen] levels were even higher. So we went in and we had a biopsy done, and then they found it.
"So I had to deal with it. All those things, had I not caught them and dealt with them, I know that I wouldn't be there.
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