Dave Coulier has just revealed he’s battling stage 3 cancer, as the actor gave an exclusive interview to PEOPLE, revealing more about his diagnosis and how he’s dealing with it.
Backed up by his wife Melissa, the actor was diagnosed with cancer after an upper respiratory infection caused major swelling in his lymph nodes. Here’s everything the actor revealed.
Dave Coulier On His Cancer Battle
Talking about how his cancer got detected, Dave Coulier said, “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.’”
“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.”
He then talked about how he decided not to hide it from the public as he appeared on his podcast ‘Full House Rewind’ after his chemotherapy, saying, “I started the podcast wearing a hat, and I said, I’ve always been a man of many hats, but this hat has special significance because a couple of weeks ago, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. That was really a conscious decision of, I’m going to meet this head-on, and I want people to know it’s my life. I’m not going to try and hide anything. I would rather talk about it and open the discussion and inspire people.”
How Melissa Coulier Is Supporting Dave Coulier In His Cancer Journey
If there’s some comfort in his life after the complicated diagnosis, it comes from Dave’s wife Melissa who has been a constant support in his life. Coulier spoke about how he has a positive outlook on things keeping in mind how Melissa will deal with it, and how she has been a source of constant comfort for him.
“I looked at how those words affected [Melissa] and I thought, you know what, I’m going to be strong throughout this, not just for me, but I’m going to be strong for her,” he says.
In his final words to his fans, Coulier encourages them to take care of their health. He adds, “Take great care of yourself because there’s a lot to live for. And if that means talking with your doctors or getting a mammogram or a breast exam or colonoscopy, it can really make a big change in your life.”
