Full House star Dave Coulier, best known for his role on the show as Joey Gladstone, aka "Uncle Joey," has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. According to Fox News, Coulier learned of the cancer diagnosis in October after struggling with an upper respiratory infection. Coulier, 65, explained to People magazine that he found out about the diagnosis when doctors ordered PET and CT scans over concerns of swelling of lymph nodes. The actor noted that he has the rare B cell lymphoma type — a "very aggressive" form.
"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."
Fortunately, he said that his bone marrow test was negative, adding that his chances of being cured increased from "something low to 90% range."
"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 the outlet. "I don't know how to explain it, but there was an inner calm about all of it."
Coulier, who previously lost his mother, sister, and niece to cancer — and currently has another sister struggling with cancer — said this history is the reason he feels at peace, Faithwire reports.
"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,'" he said. "I've had an incredible life on a journey with incredible people around me, and I'm OK. It does change perspective for sure."
He hopes to complete chemotherapy, which he is currently going through, in 2025. Coulier told People he wants to have a "sense of humor" amid facing uncertain circumstances.
"This is a journey," he told Today. "This is a bit of a battle, and you're going to need to be on your game."
In addition to "Full House," Coulier reprised his role as Uncle Joey in the series sequel "Fuller House," which aired on Netflix from 2016 to 2020.
In 2022, fellow "Full House" star Bob Saget passed away, leaving Coulier and the entire cast in mourning. Later that year, Coulier spoke with CBN News about his faith journey, past struggles with alcoholism, and Saget's death.
Although he was able to achieve sobriety, Coulier suffered a number of significant losses, including losing his brother to suicide and losing his father and Saget in the span of 12 months.
"I always equate my faith to a fire that's burning inside of you, and I almost extinguished that fire because of my abuse with alcohol," he said.
Coulier called these deaths a "hat trick of losses" and a collective "heart punch." At the same time, however, Coulier expressed gratitude he was able to process his grief while being sober.
"The only thing I could think was, 'Thank goodness I don't have alcohol in my life that is extinguishing that fire which is my faith,'" he said. "And I was able to feel those raw emotions, which I never would have felt had I been abusing alcohol — and I was in touch with myself spiritually." So, for me, it was allowing that flame to ignite again and to find my spirituality, and it helped me through all of that," Coulier added.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Dave Coulier
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.