Dave Coulier, ‘Full House’ star, has cancer

CNN
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Dave Coulier, an actor and comedian who found fame as Uncle Joey on “Full House,” has revealed that he has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.

Coulier shared the news on Wednesday during an interview in “I dag”. He told the show’s co-anchor Hoda Kotb that he was diagnosed five weeks ago.

“In that time I’ve been through three surgeries, I’ve had chemo, I’ve lost a little bit of hair,” he said, patting his head. “I look a bit like a baby bird now, but it sure has been a roller coaster ride.”

Coulier said he has “B-cell lymphoma,” which he described as “aggressive.”

“The onset of this growing lymphoma in my groin area was very fast, so I said ‘Something’s wrong, I’ve got a golf ball down here,'” he told Kotb. “And so we biopsied it, we took it out, and they said ‘You know, we wish we had better news for you, but you have B-cell lymphoma, we’ve got to get you on chemotherapy right away .'”

According to American Cancer SocietyNon-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most common cancers in the United States, accounting for about 4% of all cancers.

The actor said he was home alone when he received the news, and when he told his wife, Melissa, that the tests had found cancer, she told him to “stop making jokes.” Then there was the hurdle of figuring out the staging of the cancer.

Fortunately, Coulier said, tests of his bone marrow showed it had not spread.

“At that time the cure rate went up to 90 plus percent, so it’s very treatable,” he said.

After battling a cold, Coulier said the swelling in his groin grew rapidly within five days. While his blood work was good, he said scans showed “hot spots” in his neck and groin.

The star said he’s had one round of chemotherapy so far, with another coming up this week. He joked about cutting his hair preemptively, which allows him to fit better in his hockey helmet and makes him “more aerodynamic on the ice.”

The devout hockey player and fan is staying as active and positive as possible with the expectation that he will be in full remission when he finishes treatment in February.