Fans of Full House and of Dave Coulier, who played Joey Gladstone on the show, have been on a roller coaster in the past year, following Coulier along on his cancer treatment journey after he revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and later deemed cancer-free.
Now, unfortunately, the journey continues, as Coulier revealed during an interview with TODAY after Thanksgiving weekend that just seven months after being declared cancer-free, he's since been diagnosed with a "P16 squamous carcinoma," which is a form of cancer that concentrates in the head and neck, and in Coulier's case, in his tongue.
Coulier shared:
"So in October of this year, I went in for a PET scan, just a routine check-up, and something flared on the PET scan."
"It turned out that I have P16 squamous carcinoma at the base of my tongue."
"So I said to the doctors, I said, ‘Well, did this happen because of the lymphoma?’"
"And they said, ‘Totally unrelated.’ Totally unrelated to the previous cancer that I had."
Just like his Gladstone character, Coulier is facing this diagnosis with nervousness but also gratitude, specifically because the prognosis is good since his cancer was discovered early.
Coulier explained in a positive tone:
"[The] prognosis is very good for P16 squamous carcinoma."
"So it has a 90+ curability rate. But the thing that has really saved my life, Craig, is that early detection saved my life, not just the first time but the second time as well."
"So I hope you’re getting your check-ups. I hope your colonoscopies, breast exams, and prostate exams. They will save your life."
Coulier has lost three family members to breast cancer, including his mother, his sister at the age of 39, and his niece at the age of 29. This has encouraged him to stay strong during his treatments and to remain vigilant about being scanned for new symptoms, while encouraging the people around him to do the same.
Viewers were grateful that Coulier was advocating for early detection and wished him well.
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You can watch the interview with TODAY here:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
It's heartbreaking that Coulier has to receive treatment again—for an unrelated, unexpected cancer, no less. Fortunately for him, his cancer was detected early both times, so his treatments were efficient and swift.
If you have the medical resources, it's important to stay on top of your medical scans to allow as few things to go undetected as possible.
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