Dave Coulier felt like he had "punched" his wife "in the chest" when he told her he had cancer.
The 65-year-old actor revealed in November that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and he's recalled how he had 15 minutes to process the news of his diagnosis following a lymph node biopsy before he broke it to spouse Melissa, and on doing so, they cried together.
Speaking to Blood Health magazine, Dave said: “My wife called me just before the doctor did and said she’d be home in 20 minutes. Then the phone rang.
“My doctor said, ‘We wish we had better news.’ I thought, ‘Uh-oh, this isn’t going to be good.’ They told me I had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — specifically, an aggressive B-cell strain — and that I needed to start chemotherapy quickly.
“It was a lot to digest. You never think the word 'cancer' is going to apply to you. I had about 15 minutes to collect myself before my wife walked through the door.
"When I told her, it was like I’d punched her in the chest. We just held each other and cried.”
But after the emotional moment, Dave vowed to be optimistic and to look on the bright side.
He added: “Strangely, a calm came over me.
"I told her, ‘I think there’s a silver lining. Maybe I can help people — encourage them to get early screenings.’
"That thought grounded me. If I was going through this, maybe I could make a difference.”
Dave had been undergoing chemotherapy and has had various side effects.
He said: "Chemotherapy is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. Each round brought different side effects: hiccups (who knew that was a thing?), neuropathy, cancer-related fatigue, nausea, and headaches.
"I remember walking barefoot in the kitchen, feeling like I stepped on glass — but there was nothing there. That’s when neuropathy hit."
And as a "super active" person, taking part in fewer sports as a result of his treatment has also been tough.
He said: "One of the hardest parts was that I’d go on walks and feel winded, thinking, 'What’s going on?'
"It turns out that not being as active caused my lungs to weaken. As someone who’s always been super active — playing ice hockey, golf, doing house projects — being slowed down physically was tough, both emotionally and mentally.
"However, I kept pushing through. Even small things like getting on an exercise bike or going for short walks helped."
