‘Full House’ alum Dave Coulier reveals he has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Full house Alum Dave Coulier says he was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.

The actor told People that he was diagnosed in October after an upper respiratory infection caused severe swelling in his lymph nodes. His doctor recommended several tests, including blood tests, EKG, and PET and CT scans. After doctors performed a lymph node biopsy, he received the diagnosis.

“Three days later my doctors called me back and said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B-cell lymphoma and it’s very aggressive,'” he said.

“I had a bit of a cold and then I got cancer and it was pretty overwhelming,” he revealed. “It was a really fast roller coaster ride.”

Coulier says he and his wife, Melissa Bring, along with friends in the medical field, worked together to meet 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 deal with it.”

He received better news after a bone marrow test came back negative. “At that point, my chances of recovery dropped from a low to 90%. And that was a great day.”

Coulier has started chemotherapy and said he shaved his head as a “peremptory strike.”

In Wednesday’s video version, he continued to talk about his diagnosis Full House Rewind Podcast, which he co-hosts with his former co-star Marla Sokoloff. He wore a hat and said, “I think I look a little like Mr. Woodchuck now. But it looks kind of military and it’s appropriate because this is my own personal fight.”

“I started the podcast with a hat and said I’ve always been a man of many hats, but this hat has a special meaning,” he told People. “This was really a conscious decision, I’m going to face this head on and I want people to know that it’s my life. I won’t try to hide anything. I would rather talk about it, open the discussion and inspire people.”

Coulier said he hopes his experience can inspire others to get screening.

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