Dave Coulier revealed today that he’s been diagnosed with a “very aggressive” form of cancer.
The Full House star shared that he’s been battling stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Dave stated that he was diagnosed in October after a respiratory infection led to swelling in his lymph nodes.
Dave Coulier’s Shocking Cancer Diagnosis
In an interview published Wednesday morning, Dave revealed that his diagnosis came as a complete shock.
“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 says. “This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”
Dave added that he’s lost multiple family members to cancer, and he decided right away to take an aggressive, “head-on” approach to battling the disease.
Together with his wife, Melissa Bring, and friends in the medical field, Dave assembled a team of top-tier doctors.
“We all kind of put our heads together and said, ‘Okay, where are we going?’ And they had a very specific plan for how they were going to treat this,” he said.
Shortly thereafter, Dave received some good news, when his bone marrow test came back negative.
“At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range. And so that was a great day.”
A Strong Support Network
Dave further discussed his diagnosis during an appearance on the Today show this morning.
“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.”
Dave went on to credit his wife with his ongoing recovery, noting that she “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.”
A Positive Outlook
Dave has retained his famous sense of humor in the wake of his diagnosis. And he says he’s ready for whatever comes next in the fight of his life.
“My joke is that in four short weeks, I’ve gone from a Virgo to a Cancer,” he said on 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 added.
“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.”
Today’s announcement has prompted an outpouring of support on social media, with many sharing fond memories of Full House and Dave’s late costar on the show, Bob Saget.
We wish Dave and his family all the best as they face this battle together.