Actor and comedian Dave Coulier announced Wednesday morning that he is undergoing treatment for Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Coulier told the “Today” show that he had a cold about a month ago and noticed a golf-ball-sized lump in his groin about a week after getting sick. He said that his lymph nodes frequently became swollen when he was ill but this time it was much quicker.
“It swelled up immediately,” the 65-year-old actor said. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m either really sick, or my body’s really reacting to something.’”
His doctors performed several tests and everything was normal, but they did a biopsy on the enlarged lymph node.
“(My doctors) said, ‘Hey, we wish we had better news, but you have non-Hodgkin lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma.’ It was a shock,” Coulier said.
They also took a bone marrow sample to see what stage the cancer was or if it had developed in other areas. It was Stage 3 meaning it hadn’t spread outside of the lymphatic system, he told “Today. "
He’s already gone through one round of chemo and will have six total every 21 days, finishing in February, when he hopes he will be in full remission.
Coulier is also still working and is recording the podcast “Full House Rewind.” He had taken a break, but brought on a new co-host, Marla Sokoloff, who portrayed Gia on both the original show and “Fuller House.” He announced her new gig during an episode of the podcast released on Wednesday.
The American Cancer Society said that the five-year-survival rate for the type of cancer Coulier has is about 74%. His doctors have a better prognosis, saying that his curability rate is around 90%. The organization said that it is one of the most common cancers in the country or about 4% of cases, CNN reported.