‘Full House’ Star Dave Coulier Bravely Reveals ‘Very Aggressive’ Cancer Diagnosis

Heavy/Getty The "Full House" cast in 2017

Former “Full House” star Dave Coulier has been diagnosed with stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, People reported on November 13, 2024. Coulier, 65, told the magazine he received the news in October after undergoing tests for swollen lymph nodes.

After dealing with an upper respiratory infection, the actor noticed rapid swelling, with one area as large as a golf ball, he told People. His doctor sent him for PET and CT scans, and a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.

Coulier, best known for his role as Uncle Joey on “Full House,” told the magazine, “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.”

Dave Coulier is Drawing Inspiration From Family Members’ Tough Cancer Battles

Coulier’s illness and diagnosis came weeks after he appeared with several of his “Full House” co-stars — Andrea Barber, Jodie Sweetin and Candace Cameron Bure — at 90sCon, a fan convention in Daytona, Florida.

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

“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 continued. “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.”

Coulier told People he lost his mom, sister Sharon and niece to breast cancer, adding that his older sister Karen is currently battling cancer alongside him. He said that their journeys have “inspired me in a way because they were magnificent going through what they went through, and I just thought, ‘I’m okay with this too.'”

Coulier, who hosts the popular “Full House Rewind” podcast, began chemotherapy two weeks after his diagnosis, he told People, and shaved his head as a “preemptive strike.”

He and his wife, Melissa Bring, have been proactive about working with his doctors to find the best path forward. Coulier told People that when they learned his bone marrow test came back negative, “that was a great day” because “my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range.”

Dave Coulier is Focusing on His Passions During Treatment, Including Hockey

An avid hockey player, Coulier told People that he’s trying to keep up that passion on days when he feels up to it.

He said, “I have my good days. I have my 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. I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We just went and skated around and shot pucks, and it was wonderful just to be out there doing something that I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great stuff that I have in my life.”

He also has someone else he wants to teach the game to — his grandson. According to People, Coulier’s son Luc and wife Alex are expecting a baby boy in March.

“I’ve got to teach him how to play hockey,” he told the magazine. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”