Full House star Dave Coulier has revealed that he has been diagnosed with a “very aggressive” form of stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The 65-year-old actor, who starred as Joey Gladstone on the hit ABC sitcom, shared the news during an appearance on the Today show on Wednesday (November 13).
Coulier said he first discovered symptoms several months ago when he got a cold and then found a large lump on his groin.
“It swelled up immediately,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m either really sick, or my body’s really reacting to something.’”
He visited the doctor, who shared the shocking diagnosis with him just five weeks ago.
“The first thing I said to them was, ‘Wait a minute – cancer?’” he said. “[I was] feeling like I got punched in the stomach because it never happens to you. You always hear about it happening to someone else.”
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects the white blood cells, causing them to grow abnormally and can form tumors throughout the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. Stage 3 typically means that the cancer is large and may have spread to surrounding tissues or lymph nodes.
Coulier said he started undergoing rounds of chemotherapy two weeks ago. He shared that he has six rounds of chemo every three weeks and is expected to wrap up treatment by February.
“You hear chemo, and it scares the daylights out of you,” he said. “The first round was pretty intense because you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how you’re going to feel. Is this going to hit me immediately? Is it going to be devastating? Am I going to walk out of here?”
Describing treatment as “a bit of a roller coaster,” he said: “There [are] days where I feel unbelievable. Then there’s other days where… I’m just going to lay down and let this be what it’s going to be.
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“Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he added. “I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We just went and skated around and shot pucks, and it was wonderful just to be out there doing something that I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great stuff that I have in my life.”
Coulier praised his wife, Melissa Bring Coulier, for her support, sharing that she “organized [his] entire life, from nutrition to the doctor’s appointments to pills.”
“She’s got stuff color-coded. It’s pretty great,” he said.
Bring Coulier is Coulier’s second wife, whom he married in 2014. He was previously married to actor and model Jayne Modean, with whom he shares 33-year-old son Luc.
Coulier is best known for his role as Joey on Full House. He featured in every episode of the eight-season sitcom, which aired from 1987 to 1995. He later reprised his role for the Fuller House spin-off, which ran from 2016 to 2020.