‘Full House’ star David Coulier announces stage 3 cancer diagnosis. What to know about non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the symptom that tipped the actor.

Previous Full House star Dave Coulier has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, the actor announced on Today show Wednesday. The 65-year-old actor said he had no symptoms until a cold left him with a golf ball-sized swelling in his groin. A visit to the doctor for the unusual lump ultimately led to Coulier’s cancer diagnosis. It was a “gut punch”, he said Today. Coulier is now undergoing treatment and says the prognosis is good — an outcome he credits to prompt screening. Here’s what you need to know about Coulier’s diagnosis.

How Dave Coulier found out he had cancer

Just over a month ago, Coulier caught a cold. He told Today he was used to swollen lymph nodes in the neck and armpits, as he had previously had mild illnesses. It is a common occurrence when the body increases immune cell production to fight a cold. But within days he developed much more dramatic inflammation in a new location, his groin. “It swelled up right away,” Coulier said Today.

The enlarged nodule made Coulier think he might be sicker than he realized, so he visited his doctor. PET and CT scans, an EKG and blood tests all came back normal, but it was a biopsy — done as a precaution — that revealed Coulier had cancer. “Hey, we wish we had better news, but you have non-Hodgkin lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma,” Coulier’s doctors told him. “The first thing I said to them was, ‘Wait a minute — cancer?'”

Coulier then had to have his bone marrow biopsied to find out if the cancer had spread, which determines its stage. “It was pins and needles for a few days because I didn’t know what stage it was or if it had progressed,” he said. The results indicated that his non-Hodgkin lymphoma was stage 3, meaning the disease was present in several areas of the lymphatic system but not in any other organs, according to American Cancer Society (ACS).

Once his cancer was staged, doctors quickly scheduled Coulier for surgery to place a port through which he would receive chemotherapy. “You hear chemo and it scares the living daylights out of you,” he shared Today. “The first round was pretty intense because you don’t know what to expect.” Coulier has undergone at least one chemotherapy treatment and will have six in total, spaced every 21 days and ending in February. In all, Coulier said he has undergone three surgeries in addition to chemotherapy, which has caused him to lose “a little bit of hair.” Because his cancer has not spread beyond the lymphatic system, Coulier said his doctors estimate there is about a 90% chance his disease can be cured and that he expects “total remission.”

What is non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

It is a form of blood cancer that affects the white blood cells in the infection-fighting lymphatic system. Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphoma are similar diseases, but they are treated differently according to ACS. In both cases, cancer cells begin to multiply in the lymph nodes (connected, bean-sized depots of immune cells located throughout the body, including in the chest, neck, abdomen, and pelvis), in the immune cell-producing spleen or bone marrow, or in the lymph tissue in the digestive tract or throat.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (sometimes simply called NHL) accounts for about 4% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States, and about 80,620 Americans are expected to be diagnosed in 2024, according to ACS. On average, about 74% of people with NHL survive for at least five years, including between 71% and 77% of those diagnosed at stage 3, like Coulier. While Coulier is very optimistic about his prognosis, he also makes peace with uncertainty. He told his wife, “I don’t know why, but I (am) okay with whatever the news (is) going to be, no matter how devastating,” according to Today. But Coulier also said that cancer is “a bit of a battle, and you’re going to have to be on your game.”

Chemotherapy is the first line of treatment for NHL. However, depending on the stage, some patients also undergo radiation, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery or stem cell transplantation.

Know your risks and get screened

Like many cancers, family history of the disease and older age are risk factors for NHL, which usually affects people between 65 and 74, according to National Cancer Institute. It is also more common among men and white people than women or people of color. People with weakened immune systems due to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or HIV are also at greater risk, and certain infections, including the Epstein-Barr virus, can increase someone’s odds of developing NHL. As with colon cancer, a high BMI can also further increase your risks ACS says.

Coulier’s main symptom – severely swollen lymph nodes – is a common one first character of the NHL, according to the ACS. Other symptoms include unexplained fever, night sweats, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, rash or itchy skin, and unexplained chest, stomach, or bone pain. Although these symptoms can usually be explained by something else, they are worth getting checked out if they persist.

Getting his swollen lymph nodes checked out may well have saved Coulier’s life, and he hopes more awareness will encourage others to do the same. “If I can help somebody … get an early screening — a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam — do it, because to me early detection meant everything,” Coulier shared Today.