‘Full House’ Star Dave Coulier Diagnosed With Cancer

Dave Coulier is opening up about his cancer battle. In an interview with PEOPLE published Wednesday morning, the Full House alum, 65, revealed that he has been diagnosed with stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that begins in the lymphatic system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

“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,” Coulier said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but there was an inner calm about all of it, and I think that that’s part of what I’ve seen with the women in my family go through. 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 okay with this too.’ I’ve had an incredible life on a journey with incredible people around me and I’m okay. It does change perspective for sure.”

Coulier was diagnosed with cancer in October after an upper respiratory infection caused major swelling in his lymph nodes. According to Coulier, one area swelled to the size of a golf ball, and his doctor recommended PET and CT scans as well as a biopsy. Three days later, Coulier recalled, “My doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive.’”

“I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming,” he said. “This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”

While his cancer was described as “aggressive,” Coulier revealed that his bone marrow test came back negative, and “at that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range. And so that was a great day.”

Although Coulier admitted that the diagnosis left him “stunned” and caused him to draw inspiration from the family in his life who have battle cancer (the actor lost his mother and sister Sharon to breast cancer), he said he and his wife Melissa Bring decided to immediately tackle his diagnosis “head on.” Along with friends in the medical field, they “put our heads together and said, ‘Okay, where are we going?’ And they had a very specific plan for how they were going to treat this.”

Within two weeks, Coulier began chemotherapy, shaving his head as a “preemptive strike.” He has since completed six rounds of chemo, sharing that he has “my good days. I have my bad days.”

“Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he said. “I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We just went and skated around and shot pucks, and it was wonderful just to be out there doing something that I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great stuff that I have in my life.”

Among the things he is focusing on, Coulier said, is his upcoming role as grandpa. The actor told PEOPLE that his 33-year-old son Luc is expecting his first child with his wife Alex. Their baby boy is due in March, and Coulier has “got to teach him how to play hockey. There’s a lot to look forward to.” The actor also credited his sister Karen, a registered nurse, for helping him through the difficult time with humor.

“She’s been so supportive and she’s funny. So we’re making jokes about this,” he shared. “One of my jokes is in four short weeks I’ve gone from a Virgo to a Cancer. I’m a huge hockey fan. So when they said ‘You’ve got NHL,’ I thought, ‘I finally made it to the NHL.’”

Coulier said he decided to open up about his diagnosis in the hopes of encouraging others to prioritize their health and “take great care of yourself, because there’s a lot to live for. And if that means talking with your doctors or getting a mammogram or a breast exam or colonoscopy, it can really make a big change in your life.”