One of the stars of TV comedy Full House has revealed his alarming cancer diagnosis.

Dave Coulier, who played Uncle Joey on the 1990s TV hit, revealed on Wednesday (US time) he had been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after a rapid onset of symptoms.

“Five weeks ago I was diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And in that time, I’ve had three surgeries, I’ve had chemo, I’ve lost a little bit of hair,” the 65-year-old told NBC’s Today show.

“I kind of look like a little baby bird now, but it has been a roller coaster ride for sure.”

Coulier said he first noticed symptoms only a month ago, when he came down with a cold. He’d previously noticed the lymph nodes in his neck or armpits would swell when he was sick – but this time he developed a golf-ball sized lump in his groin within a week of falling ill.

“It swelled up immediately,” he said.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I’m either really sick, or my body’s really reacting to something’.”

Coulier, left, with his original Full House co-stars, including Bob Saget. Photo: IMDB

Coulier’s doctors did scans and a biopsy. Three days later he was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, which he said was “a very aggressive type.”

“[The doctors] said, ‘Hey, we wish we had better news … It was a shock,” he said.

Coulier said his wife, Melissa Bring, initially didn’t believe him when he told her he had cancer.

“She said, ‘C’mon, quit making jokes’. And I said, ‘No, I did’,” he said.

“Once that settled in, it was a gut punch.”

Doctors then looked at Coulier’s bone marrow to determine at what stage his cancer was, and if it had spread.

“We got good news that day, once we got the results that, you know, it hadn’t spread. And so at that point, the curability rate went up to 90-plus percent. So it’s very treatable,” he said.

I’m sending so much love to all of you and encouraging you to get a Breast Exam, Colonoscopy,
Prostate exam. Early detection can mean all the difference in the world for your health. ❤️ https://t.co/ThtkBgRhCL

— Dave Coulier (@DaveCoulier) November 13, 2024

Since then Coulier has had chemotherapy, with more scheduled for Friday. He will have chemotherapy until February.

“Should be total remission by that time. Fingers crossed. I’m treating this as a journey,” he said.

“If I can help someone who’s watching today get an early screening – a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam – go do it because, for me, early detection meant everything.”

Coulier played Joey Gladstone on Full House from 1987-1995, and then returned for the 2016-2020 reboot Fuller House.

He has previously also been open about other health issues, revealing on Instagram in 2022 that he had been sober since January 1, 2020.

“I loved booze, but it didn’t love me back. I decided to make a decision for my own well-being, my family and for those around me who I love so dearly,” he wrote.

Coulier also said that giving up alcohol had helped him cope with the loss of fellow Full House co-star Bob Saget, who died of head trauma in January 2022.