Dave Coulier Reveals He Has Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: ‘I'm Going to Be Strong Throughout This’ (Exclusive)

Dave Coulier was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Full house actor, 65, tells PEOPLE exclusively that he was diagnosed in October after an upper respiratory infection caused his lymph nodes to swell greatly.

As his swelling increased rapidly, and one area grew to the size of a golf ball, he says his doctor advised him to have a PET and CT scan, as well as a biopsy, which ultimately gave him the life-changing news.

“Three days later, my doctors called me again and 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 recalls.

“I went from, having a bit of a cold to having cancer, and it was pretty devastating,” he says. “It’s been this really fast roller coaster ride.”

James Van Der Beek’s cancer diagnosis

Photo by Robert Bruce

In non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, white blood cells grow abnormally, causing tumors to grow throughout the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. Swollen lymph nodes are a symptom, as Coulier experienced, as is chest pain or fever.

B-cell lymphoma — the type Coulier has — is “rare,” the Mayo Clinic says, and “attacks the skin.”

After learning of his diagnosis, Coulier says he and his wife, Melissa Bring — along with some of his close friends in the medical field — immediately worked together to face his diagnosis “head on.”

“We all put our heads together and said, ‘Okay, where are we going?’ And they had a very specific plan for how they were going to treat this,” he says, noting that the bright spot in his diagnosis was when the bone marrow test came back negative. “At that point, my chances of recovery dropped from slightly low to 90 percent. It was a great day.”

Two weeks after his diagnosis, Coulier says he immediately began chemotherapy. He shaved his head as a “preemptive attack” and talks about his experience further in his podcast Full House Rewind with Marla Sokoloff.

“I started the podcast wearing a hat and I said, I’ve always been a man of many hats, but this hat has a special meaning because I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma a few weeks ago,” he says of the debut episode in which he opens up about his diagnosis. “It was really a conscious decision to face this head on and I want people to know that this is my life. I won’t try to hide anything. I’d rather talk about it and open up a discussion and inspire people.”

Dave Coulier on Full House.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Throughout his cancer journey, Coulier says he chooses to keep a positive attitude, especially toward his wife and son Luca, who he reveals is expecting his first child. “I watched how those words worked [Melissa] and I thought, you know what, I’m going to be strong through this, not just for myself, but I’m going to be strong for her.”

As Coulier goes through this journey, he has drawn inspiration from family members, many of whom have also been through cancer. “I lost my mother to breast cancer. I lost my sister Sharon to breast cancer. She was 36 years old. I lost my niece, Shannon. She was 29 years old,” he says, adding that his older sister Karen is also passing away with cancer.

“I saw what these women in my family went through and I thought, ‘If I can be just 1/10 percent as strong as them, then I’ll be just fine,'” he says.

In the midst of his treatments, he says he relied on his sister Karen — and their shared sense of humor — to keep his spirits up.

“My sister was a registered nurse, so she saw it from a different perspective than I did,” she explains. “She was very supportive and funny. So let’s joke about this topic. One of my jokes is that in four short weeks I went from being a Virgo to a Cancer. I’m a big hockey fan. So when they said, ‘You’ve got the NHL,’ I thought, ‘I’ve finally made it to the NHL.'”

“When I first got the news I was stunned, of course, because I didn’t expect it, and then reality became reality and I found myself incredibly calm regardless of the outcome,” he says. “I don’t know how to explain it, but there was an inner calm about it all, and I think that’s part of what I’ve seen with the women in my family going 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 okay with this too.’ I’ve had an amazing life traveling with amazing people around me and I’m fine. It certainly changes the perspective.”

Coulier has already completed the first of six chemotherapy treatments, and is taking it one day at a time.

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“I have my good days. I have bad days,” he says. “Some days it’s nausea and dizziness, and then there are other days when the steroids work, and I feel like I have a ton of energy. I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We were just going and skating around and shooting pucks, and it was great just being out there doing something I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great things I have in my life.”

Dave Coulier reveals becoming a grandfather amid cancer diagnosis: ‘There’s a lot to look forward to’ (Exclusive)

This includes preparing to become a grandfather: Coulier’s son Luc (33) and his wife Alex are expecting a baby boy who is due in March. “I have to teach him to play hockey,” he says. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”

Ultimately, by sharing her own story, Coulier hopes she can encourage others to get tested early.

“Take care of yourself, because there is a lot to live for,” he advises fans. “And if that means talking to your doctors or going for a mammogram or a breast exam or a colonoscopy, that can really make a big difference in your life.”

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Source: HIS Education