1 week Ago By Arden Dier
Just weeks ago, Dave Coulier learned he has cancer—"very aggressive" cancer. Last month, the 65-year-old star was experiencing an upper respiratory infection that caused his lymph nodes to swell, per . Then, a lymph node in his groin suddenly grew to the size of a golf ball, Coulier tells .
A biopsy and further tests revealed cancer in lymph nodes in the region of the diaphragm, known as Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Coulier tells . The actor, who is expecting his first grandchild in March, says doctors told him "you have [non-Hodgkin] lymphoma and it's called B-cell and it's very aggressive." The hockey fan jokes that "when they said 'You've got NHL,' I thought, 'I finally made it to the NHL.
'" In reality, "I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming," he tells . The good news is that the cancer hasn't spread to Coulier's bone marrow. Learning that, "my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range," he says.
"And so that was a great day." Coulier, who lost his mother, a sister, and a niece to breast cancer, says he began chemotherapy within two weeks of the diagnosis. He's now completed the first of six treatments and should wrap up the last in February.
He says he's taking strength from the women in his family, including an older sister who's fighting cancer alongside him. As for the grandson due in March, "I've got to teach him how to play hockey," Coulier tells . "There's a lot to look forward to.
" But even if the end is near, "I've had an incredible life," Coulier tells . "This has been an extraordinary journey, and I'm OK if this is the end of the journey." (More stories.
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