Dave Coulier is opening up about one of the thoughtful ways his wife Melissa Bring has supported him amid his cancer diagnosis.
The Full House alum, 65, revealed exclusively to PEOPLE that he has stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and now, he is sharing some details about how his wellness instructor wife is making sure he eats right during his journey with the disease.
“She has put together a whole nutrition plan for me,” he tells PEOPLE of Bring, whom he married in July 2014.
An “amazing” part, Coulier added, is that his wife recently launched her own holistic wellness company, Live Well Lead Well, “so my refrigerator has color-coded foods, nutritious protein,” he explained.
Melissa has also made another big change to her husband’s meals, the actor says: “She’s taken all the sugar out of my diet.”
Michael Kovac/WireImage
Coulier explains that his wife’s company actually came about thanks to Full Houseafter she “hit it off” with Fuller House production assistant Melanie Samuels, who then became a nutritionist.
“Mel and Mel got together and they realized, ‘We’re on kind of the same journey here, why don’t we do something together?’ So they started this company, Live Well Lead Well,” he recalls.
Coulier adds that he told his wife, ” ‘Maybe that’s why you started this company so that you could help me.’ I mean, it’s kind of incredible timing.”
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Bring wrote, in part, about how she’s helping her husband amid his diagnosis: “We’re focusing on fueling his body with real whole foods, cutting out refined sugar & processed foods, spending time in nature, and incorporating infrared saunas, breathwork, and massages to support Dave’s strength and comfort.”
She added, “Dave’s resilience inspires me every day, and together, we’re doing everything to support his recovery — with plenty of laughter to keep spirits high.”
Melissa Coulier
Coulier’s diagnosis came about after the swelling he was experiencing in his lymph nodes rapidly increased, including one area quickly growing to be golf ball-sized. The actor explained that his doctor advised him to get a biopsy as well as PET and CT scans, which led to the life-changing news.
“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 explained.
“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 Mayo Clinic, in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, “white blood cells called lymphocytes grow abnormally and can form growths (tumors) throughout the body.” Symptoms includes swollen lymph nodes, which Coulier experienced. The type Coulier has — B cell lymphoma — is “rare,” per the Mayo Clinic
Bring has been by her husband’s side through it all, and, along with close friends of Coulier’s in the medical field, the couple immediately got to work to meet his diagnosis “head-on,” he said.
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Indeed, it was his family’s reaction to the news of his diagnosis that helped the actor find strength.
“I looked at how those words affected [my wife] 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 said.
Coulier also revealed that while he is on a journey with cancer — he has completed one of six chemotherapy treatments so far — there is some happy news amid the challenges, as his son Luc, 33, and his wife Alex have a baby boy due in March, making the actor a grandfather for the first time.
“I’ve got to teach him how to play hockey,” he said of his future grandchild. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”
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