‘Full House’ ‘Joey’ Star Dave Coulier, 65, Says Fighting Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Feels Like a ‘Roller Coaster Ride,’ Admitting ‘It’s a Little Bit Of An Internal Battle’

He explained, “And people who are watching the show or listening to the show, who have been here before, you know that it’s a roller coaster, because the side effects have side effects, and then you take a drug to counteract that and this and that.

“So it’s this constant cocktail where your body is in fight or flight mode, and you’re just trying to adjust to, like, ‘Okay, how am I adjusting to steroids? How am I adjusting to the chemo cocktail? And then, how am I adjusting to all these other things?'”

Coulier continued, “You know, your body’s in a fight. It’s a little bit of an internal battle,.”

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Treatment

After insisting that he’s “feeling good,” he noted that his hair has not yet grown back, after losing it from chemotherapy treatment, and jokingly said he realizes “how much that hair keeps you warm.

Sokoloff then chimed in, “Gets a little cold here in Michigan where I’m at. That’ll come in handy during the summer, I guess. It’s like a little air conditioning on your head.”

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Coulier, who admitted “it’ll be nice to have hair again,” then praised all of his supporters and the constant “words of encouragement” he’s been receiving.

He concluded, “If I have to feel a little out of sorts for a few months, then, then so be it. But just being able to alert people that it’s okay to get a colonoscopy or early screenings or a mammogram, it’s really worth it.”

Dave Coulier’s Cancer Journey

Coulier, a dad of one who is fighting cancer with the support of his caregiving wife Melissa Bring, was diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October.

Since starting chemotherapy, he is set to receive six rounds of chemo every three weeks and complete his treatment in February.

RELATED: ‘Full House’ Icon Dave Coulier’s Wife Removes ‘All The Sugar’ From His Diet Amid Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Fight— How Should Someone Battling Cancer Eat?

Speaking exclusively to People about his diagnosis in a recent interview, he explained how he was informed he had cancer following an upper respiratory infection which led to swelling of this lymph nodes.

After the lymph nodes dramatically increased in size, he underwent PET and CT scans, in addition to a biopsy, which led to his diagnosis just three days later.

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The type of cancer he was diagnosed with is “very aggressive” and labeled as B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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

As for how he’s feeling emotionally throughout his cancer journey, Coulier said, “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.

“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.'”

Coulier, who has been coping with cancer by spending time with loved ones and doing things he enjoys, like playing hockey, now insists that others should, “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.”

Understanding Lymphoma

Dave Coulier is battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the two most common types of lymphoma. Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. And there are more than 40 different types of lymphoma.

RELATED: Sneaky Lymphoma Symptoms Often Lead to a Late Diagnosis

“Lymphoma is split up into a number of different categories,” Dr. Elise Chong, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, previously told SurvivorNet.

“The first distinguishing breakpoint, if you will, is non-Hodgkin lymphoma versus Hodgkin lymphoma,” she added, “and those sound like two different categories. But non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises the majority of lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma is a single specific type of lymphoma.”

Hodgkin lymphoma has distinctive, giant cells called Reed-Sternberg cells. The presence of these cells, which can be seen under a microscope, will help your doctor determine which of the two lymphoma types you have.

There are a few other important differences between non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma to note. For one thing, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is much more common. And you’re more likely to be diagnosed with it after age 55. People usually develop Hodgkin lymphoma at a younger age.

Age, Race, and Exposures Might All Factor Into Lymphoma Risk

It should be noted that another difference between these two types of lymphoma is that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to spread in a random fashion and be found in different groups of lymph nodes in the body, while Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to grow in a uniform way from one group of lymph nodes directly to another.

These two different types of lymphoma behave, spread and respond to treatment differently, so it’s important for you to know which type you have.

Treating non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

When you’re diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the first things your doctor will want to know is your type. In Coulier’s case, he was diagnosed with stage 3 aggressive B cell lymphoma.

It’s important to understand that non-Hodgkin lymphoma comes in a few different subtypes. Knowing which one of these you have can help steer you to the most appropriate treatment for you.

One way doctors divide up these cancers is based on how fast they’re likely to grow and spread. “The two main classifications I think of in terms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are lymphomas that are more indolent and those that are more aggressive, because those are treated very differently,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.

Indolent lymphomas grow slowly and often don’t cause any symptoms, so they may not need immediate treatment. At the opposite end of the spectrum are aggressive lymphomas, which grow and spread quickly and need to be treated right away.

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment: Finding the Right Fit for You

B-Cell or T-Cell?

Another way to classify non-Hodgkin lymphoma is based on the type of cell it affects. All of these cancers involve lymphocytes — white blood cells that help your immune system fight off germs and get rid of abnormal cells.

Lymphocytes come in two types: B-cells and T-cell. If you have non-Hodgkin lymphoma, there’s a good chance you have the B-cell variety because of how common it is.

From there, non-Hodgkin lymphomas are broken down into even more categories. Some affect larger numbers of people than others. “Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and that is an aggressive subtype,” according to Dr. Crombie.

As for which treatment will work best against your specific type of cancer, once the work of determining your type of cancer is finished, your doctor can focus on the next important step — how to treat you. If you have an indolent cancer and you don’t have any bothersome symptoms, you may not need treatment right away, Dr. Crombie says.

What Does It Mean to Have Advanced-Stage Lymphoma?

If your cancer is more aggressive, whether it’s T-cell or B-cell, you can expect to get chemotherapy. Chemo may be part of a cocktail of drugs that are given in combination. These drugs work synergistically, going after your cancer in different ways to treat it more effectively.

Sometimes radiation therapy is used together with chemotherapy. Radiation uses high-energy x-rays to eliminate cancer cells. The radiation typically given for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is delivered from a machine outside the body, which is called external beam radiation.

One more thing your doctor will want to investigate is your cancer’s genetic makeup. Using a sample of your cancer cells taken during a biopsy, your doctor will test for genetic mutations and other abnormalities.

In some people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, genes have swapped places, which doctors refer to as translocations. C-MYC, BCL2, or BCL6 are three common translocations. Having one of them could affect how your cancer spreads, and how well you might do in the future. Translocations can also change the course of your treatment.

“If patients have those translocations, sometimes we give a slightly different version of chemotherapy,” Dr. Crombie tells SurvivorNet.

Dealing With Treatment Side Effects

Most people handle R-CHOP, the standard chemotherapy cocktail that’s given for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma), pretty well, but everyone is different. A few side effects, like fatigue, nausea, and low blood cell counts, tend to pop up more often with these drugs. There are also a few rare but serious side effects, including bladder damage, heart damage, and nerve damage.

RELATED: Keytruda Extends Life for Those Fighting Hodgkin Lymphoma & It’s Now FDA-Approved as Treatment

Your doctor will do everything possible to keep you comfortable and ease your side effects while you’re being treated, but you need to be open about how you’re feeling. Doctors can often treat side effects or make adjustments to the chemotherapy drug doses as needed.

“We tell patients to make sure they let us know if they’re having any of those symptoms,” Dr. Crombie says. A fever is especially important to note, because it could be a sign that you have an infection, which needs to be treated right away.

The best treatment choice for someone with non-Hodgkin lymphoma depends largely on the type of lymphoma they have and the stage of the disease. One of the most effective regimens available for aggressive B-cell lymphoma is a drug combination called R-CHOP.

Dr. Adrienne Phillips explains how the chemotherapy combination R-CHOP works.

“R-CHOP has been a standard treatment regimen for aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the B-cell subtype for many years,” Dr. Adrienne Phillips, medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, told SurvivorNet.

“There are clinical trials looking to improve upon that standard by adding or removing medications to improve outcomes or minimize toxicity, but R-CHOP is still the standard of care for aggressive B-cell lymphomas.”

Here’s how the acronym breaks down:

• R:  Rituximab (Rituxan) is a monoclonal antibody that attaches to a specific protein called CD20, which sits on the surface of B cells. It targets the
  cancerous cells and destroys them.
• C: Cyclophosphamide is a type of chemotherapy drug
• H: Doxorubicin hydrochloride (hydroxydaunomycin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• O: Vincristine sulfate (Oncovin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• P: Prednisone is a steroid, which lowers inflammation

In most cases, doctors deliver this regimen in cycles spaced three weeks apart to help minimize side effects and give patients time between treatment cycles. The number of cycles can range from 3 to 6, depending on the stage of the cancer.

If this treatment combination does not work, doctors may try a new approach, like a different kind of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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