Full house star Dave Coulier said that he was diagnosed with tongue Cancer, less than a year after treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma proved successful..
Coulier, 66, shared an update on his health during a Dec. 2 interview. Todaycalling the news a “shock to the system.”
“Go through chemotherapy and feel relieved: “Wow, it’s all gone.” And then take a test that says, “Well, now you have a different type of cancer.” … it’s a shock to the entire system,” he said, before explaining that he was diagnosed with HPV-related oropharyngeal tongue cancer in October.
Coulier had shared that he does not have cancer after battling stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, just six months before he was newly diagnosed.
He noted that he had no symptoms or signs prior to the discovery during a follow-up scan.
“I had a PET scan done a couple of months ago, and there was something flashing on the scan,” Coulier recalls. “The doctor said, 'We don't know what it is, but you have something at the base of your tongue.'
He said his doctor performed a biopsy. “It hurt a lot. It was like biting your tongue, but the pain continued every single day,” he said.
Coulier said the initial biopsy showed no signs of cancer.
“We thought, 'This is great. We're still not sure what it is, but there are no cancer cells,” he explained.
During his next scheduled PET scan in October, Coulier said his doctors noticed that the growth on his tongue had grown in size again.
He said he went to an otolaryngologist oncologist for further testing. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors performed another biopsy to remove most of his tongue.
Once the biopsy results came back positive for cancer cells, Coulier was diagnosed with early-stage P16 carcinoma, or oropharyngeal tongue cancer, which begins in the part of the throat known as the oropharynx.
According to scientists, a cancer tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow into nearby tissues and destroy them. Canadian Cancer Society. It can also spread to other parts of the body.
P16 is a protein that is a marker for HPV or human papillomavirus. According to the study, P16-positive cancer is caused by infection with HPV-16, a high-risk type of HPV. American Cancer Society.
“They said it was completely unrelated to my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was a new type of cancer… I said, 'Are you kidding me?'” Coulier recalls.
The actor said doctors told him it could have been “caused by contracting the HPV virus 30 years ago.”
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“Many people carry the HPV virus, but they said that my virus had activated and turned into carcinoma,” he added.
“We found this disease quite early and it is highly treatable… The cure rate is 90 percent,” Coulier said. “The doctor said the prognosis is good, but we are going to start radiation immediately.”
Coulier said he is currently undergoing radiation therapy, a total of 35 treatments Monday through Friday that will last until the end of the year.
“It's a completely different animal than chemotherapy. It doesn't seem as aggressive, but there are still side effects,” he said, adding that side effects include nausea, “brain irradiation” and pain on the left side of his face and tongue where tissue was removed for biopsy.
“I usually joke… I'm doing well for a guy with cancer.”
Coulier said receiving two different cancer diagnoses in one year took its toll.
“It's emotional. It's mentally draining. It's also very draining on my wife, Melissa, and that's the most draining on me, considering how it affects her,” he said.
Coulier said his doctors expect the cancer to be “cured” after the radiation. His last treatment will take place on December 31st.
“I start the new year by saying: yesterday I finished my radiation course! It’s kind of a happy accident,” he added.
“The positive thing about this is that I had cancer, which helped me find another cancer. It seems crazy to make a statement like that, but it's true,” Coulier said.
“If I hadn't gone and listened to my doctors and made sure I had a PET scan for follow-up, we would never have found this carcinoma… and I could have been in a very bad condition. It could have progressed very badly and I would have been in trouble.”
In April, Coulier said he received two life-changing news on the same day: He became a grandfather and there were no signs of illness in his body.
Coulier shared the timing of two important moments that happened on April 18th. How rude, Tanneritos!podcast hosted by his ex Full house co-stars Jodie Sweetin And Andrea Barber.
“I got good news the day the baby was born. I heard the news and I was so excited, and then Luke (Culier's son) called us and said, 'Hey, the baby just came.' So, I mean, it was an amazing day,” Coulier shared.
“It was really amazing, you know? And we thought: “Oh, this is too much!”
In March Coulier spoke about the most difficult moments of his cancer treatment after being diagnosed late last year.
He learned in November 2024 that he had stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic and immune systems, and first noticed symptoms in October after contracting a respiratory infection that caused swollen lymph nodes around the groin and armpits.
“It swelled up right away,” Coulier said. Today in November. “I thought, 'Wow, I either very sickor my body is actually reacting to something.”
Subsequent scans and biopsies led to the diagnosis. For three days, Coulier was under treatment.
Late last year he provided an update, saying Today that in the five weeks following his diagnosis, he had undergone three surgeries, started chemotherapy and lost some of his hair.
Coulier fell ill again after completing his sixth and final round of chemotherapy in late February, telling Parade magazine that he was deep into treatment it's hard not to think about death.
“I started getting really sick,” he told the publication. “I didn't know I had a virus. I lay in bed for about 10 days, just trying to figure out, 'Do I have a cold? Am I just feeling the effects of this cumulative effect of chemotherapy? What's happening?”
Coulier also mentioned his friend and Full house co-star John StamosWHO faced backlash in November over a photo he shared Coulier wore a bald head as a sign of solidarity.
“I think people have misunderstood my personal relationship with my buddy John Stamos,” Coulier said.
“He knows what makes me laugh, and when he came out like that, I fell on the floor laughing. It wasn't us laughing at others as much as it was: Let's laugh through it because it's a hard journey,” he explained, adding that Stamos calls him almost every day to check in.
— With files from Global News' Rachel Goodman.
