‘I Can Feel My Faith’: 80s ‘A-Team’ Star Mr. T, 74, Has Leaned More Into His Faith That Pulled Him Through Lymphoma Battle Decades Into Remission

Born Laurence Tureaud, he explains that even his signature seven earrings carry symbolic meaning rooted in scripture and history.

He says in the documentary the three earrings on his right ear represent the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the three wise men; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed‑nego; the three parts of the day; the graces of faith, hope, and love; and the three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi — James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. The four on his left ear symbolize the seasons, the four directions, and the four Gospel writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Together, he says, the number seven reflects a powerful spiritual pattern: the Israelites circling Jericho seven times, Samson’s seven locks, the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven musical notes, and God resting on the seventh day.

“I am the seventh son,” he says in the Netflix documentary. “So everything I do, there is a reason behind it.”

When Mr. T’s Tough Guy Image Was Tested

Mr. T’s tough guy image was tested as he faced a cancer diagnosis during the mid-1990s.

His diagnosis came after he began noticing a persistent sore in his ear. Initially brushing it off, he eventually sought medical attention, a decision that would change his life.
“I really don’t want to bother my doctor with this little problem,” he recalled telling “Coping Magazine.”

Following a CAT scan, anxiety set in as he waited for the results.
“Here comes doubt, here comes anxiety, here comes fear… One day passes. No call from my doctor,” he described.

Soon after, radiation therapy began—an attempt to stop the cancer in its tracks. But the disease returned, this time spreading to his back, manifesting in visible sores across his body.

“Cancer sores sprouting up on my body, and I can’t stop it! It is cancer popping like microwave popcorn… I am afraid—no tough guy today,” he admitted.

Faced with weeks of chemotherapy, Mr. T experienced one of the most grueling effects of treatment—unrelenting nausea and vomiting.
“I see why some cancer patients give up… Chemo and cancer fight from my head to my toes,” he said.

But Mr. T refused to quit. His signature toughness—so often associated with his Hollywood persona—proved essential as he endured low-dose chemotherapy and radiation for years.

Throughout his battle, Mr. T leaned heavily on his faith to persevere.
“I can feel my faith returning,” he recalled during his most difficult days.

Eventually, he reached remission, proving that resilience and belief can overcome even the darkest moments.

Using Faith as a Tool for Healing

A study published in Cancer highlights the powerful role of faith in the lives of cancer patients, revealing that 69% of those diagnosed with cancer reported praying for their health, compared to 45% of the general U.S. population.

Cancer psychologist Dr. Andrew Kneier helped co-author “Coping with Cancer: Ten Steps toward Emotional Well-Being.” He also co-authored a column published by Stanford Medicine with Rabbi Jeffery M. Silberman, director of spiritual care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.

Together, they emphasize the deep emotional and psychological support that faith provides to those battling illness.

According to Kneier and Silberman, spirituality offers a powerful coping mechanism, helping individuals navigate the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.

“A person’s faith or spirituality provides a means for coping with illness and reaching a deeper kind of inner healing,” they explain.

Faith helps patients in multiple ways, including:

• Seeking answers to the difficult questions illness presents.
• Finding comfort in the midst of fear and pain.
• Gaining a sense of direction during an overwhelming and uncertain time.

Religious teachings, they argue, can serve as a guidepost, offering strength and resilience when navigating the emotional and physical challenges of cancer.

WATCH: Three-time cancer survivor shares how her faith helped her during cancer.

New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans tells SurvivorNet about the importance of finding ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a challenging health diagnosis, such as cancer.

“It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,’” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet.

“You can reach out to God, and you can reach out to people, your friends and family, and say, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need you.’ “It’s in that willingness to be open and to receive that we can find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship,” Evans continued.

Facing Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a broad category of cancers that begin in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which play a crucial role in the body’s immune system. According to Dr. Julie Vose, chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, understanding the specific type of NHL is essential for determining the best course of treatment.

WATCH: The type of lymphoma you have matters.

B-Cell vs. T-Cell Lymphoma

Doctors classify NHL based on the type of lymphocytes affected:

B-cell lymphomas account for nearly 85% of NHL cases. These cancers originate in cells responsible for producing antibodies that identify and fight infections.
T-cell lymphomas, making up 15% of cases, arise in T-cells, which directly attack harmful invaders like bacteria and viruses.
Identifying whether the lymphoma is B-cell or T-cell helps guide treatment options tailored to the disease’s behavior and progression.

Types of B-Cell Lymphoma

• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• Follicular lymphoma
• Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) / Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
• Mantle cell lymphoma
• Marginal zone lymphomas
• Burkitt lymphoma

Types of T-Cell Lymphoma

• T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia
• Peripheral T-cell lymphomas
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Aggressive vs. Indolent (slow-growing) Lymphomas

One of the key distinctions doctors make when diagnosing NHL is how rapidly the cancer grows and spreads.

Indolent (slow-growing) lymphomas tend to develop over time and may not require immediate aggressive treatment.
Aggressive lymphomas spread quickly and need intensive treatment to prevent further progression.
Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, explains that understanding whether the lymphoma is indolent or aggressive is essential, as they require very different treatment approaches.

Treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

The approach to treatment depends largely on the specific diagnosis and how the cancer behaves in the body.

Unlike Hodgkin lymphoma, which often spreads predictably from one lymph node group to the next, non-Hodgkin lymphoma can spread more randomly throughout different lymph node clusters.

WATCH: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment options

While some forms of NHL are treatable but not curable, others progress rapidly if left untreated, warns Dr. Lawrence Piro, President and CEO of The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute. Patients diagnosed with aggressive forms often require immediate intervention, while those with slower-growing types may manage their disease with targeted therapies or observation.

As researchers continue to advance treatment strategies, early diagnosis, and personalized care remain key to improving patient outcomes in the fight against non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

WATCH: Understanding R-CHOP treatment.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment depends on the type, stage, and how fast it grows. People with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma can expect to get a chemotherapy combination called R-CHOP, which is a drug cocktail consisting of chemotherapy drugs plus an antibody-drug and a steroid to treat diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

R-CHOP stands for:

• 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 cancerous cells and destroys them.
• C: Cyclophosphamide is a type of chemotherapy drug
• D: Doxorubicin hydrochloride (hydroxydaunomycin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• V: Vincristine sulfate (Oncovin) is a type of chemotherapy drug
• P: Prednisone is a steroid which lowers inflammation

Patients receiving R-CHOP receive the drug in six cycles that are three weeks apart.

“R-CHOP is a cocktail of drugs. There are five different drugs in that recipe,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.

R-CHOP side effects can include:

• Tiredness and weakness
• Hair loss
• Mouth sores
• Bruising and bleeding
• Increased risk of infection
• Appetite loss and weight loss
• Changes in bowel movements

Immunotherapy and targeted therapy are also treatment options for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients.

Rituximab (Rituxan) was the first immunotherapy drug approved to treat some forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “Rituximab is the immunotherapy that has been approved the longest, and we have the most experience with lymphoma,” Dr. Chong tells SurvivorNet.

Rituxan has side effects, including fever, chills, swelling under the skin, itching, and mild shortness of breath.

Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) is a relatively new targeted treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. This drug is an antibody-drug conjugate that combines an antibody (a type of protein that recognizes foreign substances in the body) with a drug that treats cancer. It uses a particular protein to deliver medicine directly to the cancer cell.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can also be treated with radiation, which aims beams of intense energy at the cancer to stop cancer cells from growing and dividing.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you have been diagnosed with lymphoma, it’s important to ask your doctor a series of questions to get an idea of your next steps. To help you during this difficult time, SurvivorNet has some questions to kickstart your conversation with your physician.

• What type of lymphoma do I have?
• What does my pathology report say about my diagnosis?
• Should I get a second opinion before I explore possible treatment options?
• Based on my diagnosis, what do you anticipate my treatment path?
• What common side effects should I expect when I begin treatment?
• Will I be able to continue working and normal daily activities during treatment?
• Where can I get help working with the insurance company regarding treatment costs?
• Who do you recommend I get mental health help during my treatment?

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