Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesCancer is an emotional subject that hits close to home for Bradley Cooper, and now the actor is taking part in doing something about it.
The Joy star joined other major names—including John Legend, Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry— at the launch of tech mogul Sean Parker's new cancer research foundation, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, on Thursday night and gave a heart-wrenching speech about losing his father to the disease several years ago.
"I just want to tell you about my father Charles J. Cooper, he passed away from lung cancer in 2011," Cooper revealed. "I was in a very lucky position because I was able to put everything on hold in all aspects of my life and completely focus on taking care of him."
Though Cooper had the finances, time and ability to take care of his father, he still couldn't help but describe the process as "just simply overwhelming, incredibly stressful, complex and all consuming."
He continued, "I can't even imagine how much more difficult it is for those patients and the families that are less fortunate than I was that simply can't afford to pay for both treatment and rent."
Thus, it's his hope that through his work with the Parker foundation he will be able to help support those families in need, to try new "groundbreaking" treatments so that one day a cancer diagnosis isn't an immediate death sentence.
"My hope is that one day every person fighting cancer will receive the full support they need to maintain their quality of life from the day of diagnosis to the end of their treatment regardless of economic or social status," he explained.