‘Full House’ Star Dave Coulier Diagnosed With Aggressive Form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Dave Coulier attends the People's Choice Awards 2017 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18, 2017. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Dave Coulier, best known for his role on the hit sitcom “Full House,” has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

During a Nov. 13 episode of “Full House Rewind,” the 65-year-old explained his recent absence from the podcast after receiving his diagnosis last month.

Coulier said he is currently undergoing chemotherapy, shaving his head as a “preemptive strike,” and has already had three surgeries.

The actor is receiving six rounds of chemotherapy treatments every three weeks, and if all goes well, doctors expect him to finish treatment by February.

In opening up about his battle with the disease, Coulier—who lost his mother, sister, and niece to cancer—hopes to help others in the process.

“I saw what they went through, and if I can be even half as strong as they were during their battles, I’m going to put up a pretty good fight,” he said.

“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,” he continued.

Lymphoma is a cancer with two main types—Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin—and forms in the body’s lymphatic system. B-cell lymphomas, specifically, account for the vast majority of patients.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common symptoms are ​​painless swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, or groin, but can also include fever, constant fatigue, shortness of breath, and weight loss.

In an interview with People magazine published Nov. 13, Coulier said he experienced swelling in his lymph nodes due to an upper respiratory infection, which ultimately led to his diagnosis.

“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 said.

Coulier underwent PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy after the swelling in his lymph nodes significantly increased, comparing one area of growth to the size of a golf ball.

“I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming. This has been a really fast roller-coaster ride of a journey,” he said.

While the news came as a total shock, Coulier is keeping a positive outlook, turning to his wife, Melissa Bring, along with other confidants in the medical field, in overcoming both the good and bad days.

“Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he said.

“When I first got the news, I was stunned, of course, because I didn’t expect it, and then reality settled in and I found myself remarkably calm with whatever the outcome was going to be.”

Coulier is the latest celebrity to share news of a cancer diagnosis, “The Cure” keyboardist Roger O’Donnell opened up about his lymphoma diagnosis back in August, and actor Jeff Bridges nearly lost his life after his battle with the same type of cancer.