“Full House” star Dave Coulier, who played the Tanner family’s zany Uncle Joey, has cancer.
The 65-year-old publicly disclosed his diagnosis Wednesday, telling People and appearing on NBC’s “Today” to confirm that he was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma five weeks prior.
Representatives for Coulier did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ requests for comment.
The “Fuller House” actor said he was diagnosed with the blood cancer in October after contracting an upper respiratory infection that caused major swelling in his lymph nodes. The swelling increased quickly and a node in his groin swelled to the size of a golf ball, he said. He asked his doctors to remove it and conduct a biopsy, which came back cancerous.
“[M]y 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.”
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma develops in B-lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system and account for the majority of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, according to the American Cancer Society. More than 80,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year, and the five-year relative survival rate is 74%. That percentage can vary widely depending on the type of lymphoma and the stage it was diagnosed and treated in.
Coulier made light of his prognosis during his “Today” sit-down with host Hoda Kotb.
“My joke is that in four short weeks I’ve gone from a Virgo to a Cancer,” he quipped. “I’ve tried to retain a sense of reality but also a sense of humor about it.”
As he, his wife Melissa and his doctors figured out his treatment plan, he was relieved to learn that the cancer had not spread to his bone marrow.
“[Stage 3] doesn’t sound great,” Coulier said, noting that curability rate is higher than 90%. “It’s very treatable.”
The “Robot Chicken” and “American Dad!” voice actor has already undergone surgery to place a chemotherapy port to facilitate treatments. He started chemo two weeks after his diagnosis and is expected to have six rounds every 21 days through February 2025. After that, his doctors told him he could expect “total remission.”
“You hear ‘chemo,’ and it scares the daylights out of you,” Coulier told Kotb. “The first round was pretty intense because you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how you’re going to feel. Is this going to hit me immediately? Is it going to be devastating? Am I going to walk out of here?”
“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster. There [are] days where I feel unbelievable,” he added. “Then there’s other days where … I’m just going to lay down and let this be what it’s going to be.”
“The Real Ghostbusters” alum said he has lost at least three family members to cancer, including his mother and sister. He hoped that sharing his story would encourage people to be screened or get other exams to help detect the presence of cancer, saying, “It’s a really simple thing to do and it can add years to your life.”
While Coulier hasn’t been able to continue to play his beloved hockey, he is looking forward to becoming a grandfather when his son welcomes his first child and has continued to record episodes of the “Full House Rewind” podcast. He’s also expecting a visit from his longtime co-star John Stamos later this week.
Coulier, Stamos and late comedian Bob Saget played a trio of “Three Men and a Baby”-style dads and uncles in the ABC sitcom “Full House” and its Netflix revival, “Fuller House.” But instead of a baby they were raising a widower’s three young daughters and expanded their San Francisco home to accommodate the growing family. Coulier played the basement-dwelling Uncle Joey, a struggling stand-up comedian who used the catchphrase “Cut it out” and a puppet to help teach the Tanner girls life lessons.
The situation comedy, which ran for eight seasons from 1987 to 1995, also starred Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Lori Loughlin, Andrea Barber and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
