Dolph Lundgren's Battle With Kidney Cancer
- Actor, filmmaker, and martial artist Dolph Lundgren, who recently became “cancer free” after battling kidney cancer for nine years, as offered some insight into his successful marriage
- Kidney cancer develops when cells in the kidneys, a pair of bean-shaped organs each about the size of a fist, begin to grow out of control.
- Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. About 9 out of 10 kidney cancers are RCCs.
- Support through life’s challenges, even cancer treatment, can make the world of a difference, whether it’s support from friends, family, spouses, or fellow cancer fighters in a support group.
- “Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet. “But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional.”
Lundgren, who acted in “Rocky IV,” “Universal Soldier,” and “The Expendables,” married his beloved wife Emma in Greece on July 13, 2023.
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Lundgren further explained, “When you have disagreements, somebody wants to be right, but the other person also wants to be right.
“But you have to make your partner feel good, even when you both have disagreements. That phrase [‘happy wife, happy life’] is true. You have to respect each other. You have to compliment each other.”
Additionally, Lundgren strives to spend as much time as he can with his wife, admitting he thinks distance is a “recipe for disaster.”
He told the news outlet, “In show business, you travel a lot. And I’m a hardworking guy. I think what’s helped us is that we work on things together. We work on the vodka together.
“My wife has also helped me produce and develop movies. So, we have a partnership, not just romantically, but also professionally. That way, we don’t have to be apart a lot. And I value her opinions, her ideas.”
Prior to getting married in 2023, during an interview on “Depth with Graham Bensinger,” Lundgren described his then-fiance as “like an angel that was sent down to help me.”
Commenting on their age gap, he said, “I feel like Emma is very mature for her age, for sure. She’s had an interesting life. She came over here from a small town in Norway. She was married here and she went through a difficult divorce and went through a lot of stuff that most young people her age don’t have to deal with.”
“So she’s quite mature and at the same time, I think I’m quite youthful. But you know, I’ve been with people that are twice her age [who are] less mature than she is,” he added.
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As for his improved health status and continued dedication to staying fit, he explained, “My fitness routine these days, well, I think there are three parts to it. One is strength. I try to do weights about twice a week. The other one is cardio. I keep the heart rate up either by biking or just walking or climbing stairs. The third one is functionality, because, as you get older, you lose some of your mobility.
“And I found that floor Pilates, not with the machine, is really good for you. It’s a combination of gymnastics and core work. I find it really helpful, especially as you get older.”
He also noted, “I sometimes do martial arts for functionality, get some kicks in. But a combination of those three is important to me.”
Dolph Lundgren’s Secret 8-Year-Battle With Kidney Cancer
Last year, during Lundgren’s interview on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger,” the beloved actor admitted he was feeling “lucky to be alive” after being diagnosed with cancer in 2015, going into remission, and having the cancer return five years later only to learn it was mutating.
During the interview, shared on YouTube about five months ago, Lundgren took viewers through his emotional cancer journey.
Speaking in a one-on-one interview with Bensinger, Lundgren said a tumor in his kidney was found and taken out in 2015 in L.A., and a biopsy confirmed it was in fact cancerous.
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He explained, “Then I did scans every six months, then you do it every year and it was fine, you know, for five years. In 2020, I was back in Sweden and had some kind of acid reflux … I didn’t know what it was. So I did an MRI and they found there were a few more tumors around the area.
“The doctor called me … and said they found one more tumor in the liver. So I was like ‘Oh okay.’ At that point, it started to hit me that this is kind of something serious.”
He ultimately had surgery to remove six tumors.
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During the interview, a video clip was played show the father of two recovering from the procedure.
“It’s the day after my surgery, they took out one tumor, then they took out another two they found, and another three small ones. So six all together,” he says. “Hopefully it’s cleaned out. If it dies, it dies,” he added, saying a similar phrase to his famous line in “Rocky IV”: “I can not be defeated. I beat all man. Someday, I will beat a real champion. If he dies, he dies.”
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However, scans showed that the tumor in his liver had grown “too big” and was “like the size of a lemon” and was unable to be removed via surgery.
Lundgren then had to start systemic therapy in the fall of 2021, which at the time, he was estimated to live for only another two or three years, something he worried was actually a shorter amount of time.
Recounting how he felt, Lundgren said, “You kind of look at your life going ‘Oh I’ve had a great life. I’ve had a freaking great life. I’ve lived like five lifetimes in one already with everything I’ve done. So It wasn’t like I was bitter about it. It was just like, you know, feel sorry for my kids and my fiance and people around you.
Thankfully, Lundgren didn’t give up and was determined to do what he could to fight off the cancer.
After he obtained a second opinion from oncologist Dr. Alexandra Drakaki, who performed another biopsy, his kidney cancer was found to be mutating like lung cancer. It, therefore, needed different treatment than what had been suggested to him.
“If I’d gone on the other treatment, I had about three or four months left,” he explained. “I couldn’t believe that that it would be that radical of a difference, that within three months, things were shrinking by 20, 30%.”
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The treatment that followed with medication led his tumors to decrease in size by 90%, which his doctor described as his improvement being “above expectations.”
We’re delighted to learn that Lundgren was able to get his last “dead tumor” removed in the fall of last year as there is no longer any cancerous cells in his body anymore.
Learning About Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancer develops when cells in the kidneys, a pair of bean-shaped organs each about the size of a fist, begin to grow out of control. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. In fact, about 9 out of 10 kidney cancers are RCCs.
According to the National Cancer Institute, 81,610 new cases of kidney cancer are expected across the U.S this year and it’s a disease which can develop in both adults and children.
“The main types of kidney cancer are renal cell cancer, transitional cell cancer, and Wilms tumor,” the institute explains, noting that some “inherited conditions” may increase a person’s risk of getting the disease.
Luckily, advancement in kidney cancer treatment has proven effective for people battling the disease.
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The institute states, “NCI-funded researchers are working to advance our understanding of how to detect and treat kidney cancer. Much progress has been made over the last few decades, especially in identifying genes that can drive the development of kidney cancer.
“This knowledge has led to more effective treatments. Today, about 75% of people with kidney cancer will be alive 5 years after diagnosis.”
As for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the disease, it “is the most common malignant tumor of the kidney and constitutes over 90 percent of all renal malignancies.”
Here are some signs of kidney cancer to look out for:
- Blood in the urine (hematuria)
- Low back pain on one side (not caused by injury)
- A mass (lump) on the side or lower back
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss not caused by dieting
- Fever that is not caused by an infection and doesn’t go away
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
According to the National Cancer Institute, the following types of treatment are used for someone battling renal cell carcinoma:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials
According to UCLA Health, kidney cancer can metastasize, or spread, to any part of the body through the blood or lymphatic system. When that happens, the first signs of cancer may not be specific to your kidneys.
Symptoms of metastatic kidney cancer may cause symptoms in the newly affected areas of the body including:
- The lungs, causing cough and shortness of breath
- The bones, resulting in bone pain or fracture
- The brain, presenting as headaches, confusion or seizures
That being said, all of these signs don’t necessarily mean you have cancer. Still, you should always bring up any changes to your health with your doctors.
“Traditionally, kidney cancer was diagnosed in people coming in with blood in the urine, a mass (in the) belly that was big enough that you could feel, or pain on that side,” Dr. Geoffrey Sonn, a urologic oncologist with Stanford Hospital and Clinics, previously told SurvivorNet.
“More recently because of the great increase in the use of imaging with ultrasound, CAT scans, MRI most kidney cancers (are) diagnosed incidentally, meaning a scan is done for another reason,” he added.
Dr. Sonn said that doctors finding a mass seen on imaging done for another reason is “the most common presentation” of the disease. Some patients without symptoms might discover their cancer through scans done for unrelated reasons, and other might discover the cancer after a scan to investigate abdominal pain.
Either way, it’s important to stay up-to-date on check ups and speak with your doctors about any possible signs of something being wrong.
“For localized kidney cancer, for relatively small masses that have not metastasized, most often patients feel nothing, and this is found on a scan done for another reason,” he explained.
“For larger masses of the kidney they may have pain on that side, they may see blood in the urine or a routine urine test may show a microscopic amount of blood in the urine that’s not enough to be seen visually but still will prompt further testing with imaging that shows the kidney cancer.”
Power of Support
A support system, like how Lundgren has with his wife and daughters, can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.
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“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional,” Dr. Plutchik added.
Dr. Plutchik also stressed it is important for people supporting cancer warriors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day.
“People can have a range of emotions, they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process,” Dr. Plutchik said.
Meanwhile, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin says people faced with cancer should “surround [themselves] with individuals who care and support [them]” throughout treatment while also acknowledging their limits on what they can handle.
“Going through [cancer] treatment is a very vulnerable and emotionally exhausting experience,” Dr. Strongin wrote in a column for SurvivorNet. “Noticing what you have strength for and what is feeling like too much [is] extremely important to pay attention to as you navigate treatment.”
If you’re ever in a relationship where you feel overwhelmed by how your partner is trying to support you, Dr. Strongin says you should try to communicate your feelings. This may help you decide if your partner is the person you want beside you “during this arduous chapter” of life.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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