Dave Coulier, one of the actors of “Full House”, suffers from stage 3 blood cancer

PEOPLE – Bad news. Two years after the death of Bob Saget, his best friend in the series The House PartyDave Coulier revealed he had blood cancer. The interpreter of Joey Gladstone thus confides that he has “stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma”.

He says he detected the first symptoms of his illness during a cold, noticing a lump “the size of a golf ball” in his groin. “It swelled immediatelyconfided the 65-year-old actor in the morning Today from NBC, this Wednesday, November 13. I thought, “Wow, either I’m really sick or my body is really reacting to something.” » And the actor details the battery of tests he then underwent, including a biopsy which made it possible to detect the origin of the lymphoma.

“They said, 'Hey, we wish we had better news, but you have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a B-cell lymphoma.'a blood cancer. “It was a shock,” says the actor who is in stage 3 of the disease. Dave Coulier took the opportunity to thank his wife Melissa who “organized his whole life from diet to doctor appointments to pills”.

He also highlighted the support of his friends including his former companions. The House Party (1987-1995) and its sequel The House Party: 20 years later (2016-2020), with whom he has maintained links. Among them Marla Solokoff, who played Gia Mahan and with whom he hosts the podcast Full House Rewind or John Stamos (Jesse Katsopolis) who must visit him after his second round of chemotherapy.

For his part, he confides that he quickly took a step back from the situation. “I’ve had an incredible life. I met the most extraordinary people of my life. It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m okay if this is the end of the journey,” puts into perspective the one who strived to “keep a sense of humor” since the announcement.

Strong chances of survival

The actor began his chemotherapy immediately and he claims to have had ” fear “ of treatment which he should complete by February 2025. Since then, he alternates between good and bad times. “It’s a bit like a roller coaster. There are days where I feel amazing, and then there are other days where… I'll just lay back and let things unfold as they should,” he explains.

The five-year survival rate for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has not spread widely is about 74 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. “It’s a kind of battle and we’re going to have to be up to it”affirms Dave Coulier who specifies that his doctors have predicted a recovery rate greater than 90%.

In the past, the actor has already had to confront the breast cancers of his sister Sharon and his niece Shannon, both of whom died. Her other sister Karen also has cancer. “What they went through is ten times harder than what I'm going through now. So, even if I'm ten times weaker than them, everything will be fine.”also recalling that they “laughed until the day they died.”

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