Dave Coulier, best known for his role as Uncle Joey in “Full House,” has announced he has stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Dave Coulier, best known for his role as Joey Gladstone in “Full House,” has announced he has stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Coulier, 65, shared he was diagnosed in October after he suffered from an upper respiratory infection caused by major swelling in his lymph nodes.
“Three days later, my doctors called me back, and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and it’s called B cell, and it’s very aggressive,'” he told People.
“I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming,” he added. “This has been a really fast roller-coaster ride of a journey.”
According to the American Cancer Society, B-cell lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops in B-lymphocytes. B-cell lymphomas account for the vast majority of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Every year, more than 80,000 Americans are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The first thing I said to them was, ‘Wait a minute — cancer?’” Coulier shared on the “Today” show. “(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.”
Coulier said he struggled with sharing the news with his wife, Melissa Coulier.
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“I was just contemplating, ‘How do I tell her?’” he says. “When I told her, of course, she thought I was joking.”
Melissa “organized (his) entire life, from nutrition to the doctor’s appointments to the pills.”
“She’s got stuff color-coded,” he added. “It’s pretty great.”
Coulier revealed that two weeks into his diagnosis, he started chemotherapy. The comedian took a “preemptive strike” and made a decision to shave his head, according to the “Full House Rewind” podcast.
The “Full House” star has remained in good spirits since his devastating diagnosis.
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“My joke is that in four short weeks I’ve gone from a Virgo to a Cancer,” he shared with Today. “I’ve tried to retain a sense of reality but also a sense of humor about it.”
“I told Melissa I don’t know why, but I (am) OK with whatever the news (is) going to be no matter how devastating. … I can’t explain where that came from,” he said. “I’ve had an incredible life. I’ve had the most amazing people in my life. This has been an extraordinary journey, and I’m OK if this is the end of the journey.”
Coulier starred in the popular sitcom alongside the late Bob Saget, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The show ran for eight seasons, from 1987 to 1995.
