Dave Coulier on cancer: “The side effects have side effects”

The actor and comedian Dave Coulier (65) is suffering from lymph node cancer. In October 2024 he received the terrible diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Coulier, who became known in the 1980s and 1990s as one of the main actors in the sitcom “Full House,” reports on his treatment.

“I feel good. My hair hasn’t grown back at this point,” jokes the actor at the beginning of a new one in conversation with his colleague Marla Sokoloff (44). Coulier underwent chemotherapy and in cold Michigan he now realized how much hair warms you. With a laugh, he adds: “I don’t know if I’ll grow it super long to make up for it somehow. It’ll be nice to have hair again.”

Sokoloff is reminded of a meme that says you should appreciate it when your nose isn’t running. “I wish it was just my runny nose,” replies Coulier, who then discusses the treatment, which he compares to a roller coaster ride. “The side effects have side effects – and then you take a medication to counteract that and this and that,” he says. It’s “a constant cocktail where the body is in fight or flight mode.” You try to prepare yourself for questions about how to deal with steroids or the “chemo cocktail” or “all these other things”. “You know, your body is in a battle. It’s a bit like an internal battle.”

In November 2024, Coulier made his illness public. The cancer is in the third stage and is “very aggressive,” he explained in an interview. His bone marrow was not affected, which improved his “chances of recovery from a low value to 90 percent.” Two weeks after the diagnosis, he started chemotherapy and shaved his head as a “preventative measure.”