Dave Coulier Says Seeing Women in His Family Go Through Cancer Gives Him Hope amid His Cancer Journey (Exclusive)

Dave Coulier looks to the women in his family for inspiration during his cancer journey.

The Full house star — who exclusively revealed to PEOPLE this month that he was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October — shared that he is no stranger to 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,” said Coulier, 65, adding that his older sister, Karen, also has 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 added.

The comedian also shared that he found “inner peace” after receiving his diagnosis, which he credits to “all the women in my family.”

“They probably 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,'” he said.

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He also noted that he and his sister Karen are helping each other cope with cancer.

“My sister was a registered nurse, so she saw it from a different perspective than I did. Certainly more optics,” he said. “And so she’s been so supportive and it’s funny. So let’s joke about this topic. One of my jokes is that I went from Virgo to Cancer in four short weeks,” he added,

The actor told PEOPLE that he is determined to stay “strong” and positive to those around him, especially his wife, Melissa Bring.

Dave Coulier and his wife Melissa in 2016.

Tara Ziemba/Getty

“We all have choices in life. You can laugh through the hard times and try to see the glass as half full, or you can go in the opposite direction, which doesn’t really help anything. And so I did — the choice was kind of made for me — you’re going to go through this, but you’re going to help some other people along the way,” he said, adding that he hopes sharing his story will encourage others to see their doctor when “Something wrong”.

This is not the first time that the actor has decided to move forward with hope and positivity. He announced that he had quit drinking alcohol in a candid Instagram post in 2022, sharing that he had been “alcohol-free since January 2020.”

“I have decided to make a decision for my own well-being, the well-being of my family and those around me that I love very much,” he captioned the post – which included a picture of his bruised face after a drunken fall.

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“The mental and physical withdrawals were huge challenges for me, but I had the support of @melissacoulier and friends who have already been there,” he continued. “The psychological and physical transformation has been incredible. The sky is bluer, my heart is no longer closed and I enjoy making people laugh until they drop more than ever before. Thank you, Melissa, for being there for me. I love you❤️”

The actor also shared with PEOPLE that he has received an outpouring of love and support from those around him since his diagnosis, much of it from his Full house and Fuller House family.

“John Stamos is coming to visit me,” he said. “He says, ‘If you just want to sleep, I’ll just sit next to you, or if you want to listen to music or just talk, whatever.’ And he says: ‘You have me for four days.’ And I’m like — wow. It’s like a brother. That is truly a brother.”

John Stamos and Dave Coulier in 2017.

Kelly Lee Barrett/Getty

He also revealed that he shared the news of his diagnosis with his family Fuller House castmates via group text, because “I didn’t want them to hear it from someone else.”

“And it was immediate,” he said of their responses. “Andrea [Barber] and Jodie [Sweetin] and Lori [Loughlin]and John and Jeff Franklin and Scott Weger and Candace [Cameron Bure]. It was just an outpouring of, ‘I’ll be there. You just say the time.’ ”

“And it’s devastating,” he continued. “It’s really overwhelming, the love we have for each other. We’ve been there for each other for so many years, and that’s pretty remarkable.”

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Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma causes the body’s white blood cells to grow abnormally, resulting in tumor growth, according to the Mayo Clinic. Swollen lymph nodes, along with chest pain or fever are some of the most common symptoms.

Coulier is optimistic about his prognosis, sharing with PEOPLE that recent test results put his chances of survival in the “90% range.”

“It was a great day,” he recalled of results day.

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Source: HIS Education