Ernie Hudson ‘Almost Died’ After Cancer Treatment Complications (Exclusive) [Video]

Ernie Hudson recalls the “nightmare” he endured when he “almost died” from complications stemming from his cancer treatment years ago.

The Ghostbusters star, 78, who was successfully treated for prostate cancer in 1998, was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2011.

“I was in really pretty good shape, but I wanted to make sure that everything was great,” Hudson, who was preparing to play boxer Jack Johnson in a play he wrote, tells PEOPLE. 

“I went in to get a series of checkups that it really wasn’t time for, but it was a very physical play,” continues Hudson, who wanted to be in tip-top shape.

“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,” he says.

Hudson scheduled surgery to have it removed, and his doctor told him, “‘Well, you may not have to have an ileostomy bag, but it’s a …