‘Full House’ Star Dave Coulier Has Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Dave Couiler received a diagnosis of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2024.

Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic via Getty Images

“Full House” star Dave Coulier has received a diagnosis of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the actor has revealed.

Coulier, 65, was diagnosed in October following an upper respiratory infection caused major swelling in his lymph nodes, PEOPLE reported. The swelling, according to the report, increased rapidly, with one area growing to be the size of a golf ball. He then underwent PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy.

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

Coulier said that he began chemotherapy two weeks after receiving his diagnosis, and preemptively shaved his head. PEOPLE reported that he has completed the first of six planned chemotherapy treatments.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as the National Cancer Institute explains on its website, is a type of cancer that forms in the lymph system, which is part of the immune system helping to protect the body from infection and disease.

Being older, male and having a weakened immune system can all increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and signs and symptoms of the disease include swollen lymph nodes, fever, drenching night sweats, weight loss and fatigue, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The National Cancer Institute noted that stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma means the disease has been found either in groups of lymph nodes both above and below the diaphragm, or in the lymph nodes above the diaphragm and in the spleen.

Coulier told PEOPLE he found some relief when his bone marrow tests came back negative. “At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range. And so that was a great day,” he said.

Approximately 80,620 people, including 44,590 men and 36,030 women, will receive a will receive a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society, which also reported that approximately 20,140 people, including 11,780 men and 8,360 women, will die from the disease this year.

The overall chances that a man will develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his lifetime is about 1 in 42, and the disease can occur at any age, the American Cancer Society stated on its website, noting that the risk of developing the disease increases throughout life and that more than half of the people who are first diagnosed are older than 65.

Incidence rates for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the American Cancer Society reported, have declined approximately 1% each year since 2015, and from 2012 to 2021, the death rate decreased by approximately 2% each year.

Coulier has a family history of cancer, as he told PEOPLE, having lost his mother and sister to breast cancer, as well as losing his niece. His sister is also currently in the midst of a cancer journey as well, 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,” he told PEOPLE. “I don't know how to explain it, but there was an inner calm about all of it, and I think that that's part of what I've seen with the women in my family go through. They really instilled that in me and inspired me in a way because they were magnificent going through what they went through, and I just thought, ‘I'm OK with this too.’ I've had an incredible life on a journey with incredible people around me and I'm OK. It does change perspective for sure.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.