Dave Coulier Reveals 'Very Aggressive' Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis

Full House actor and comedian Dave Coulier has announced that he's battling stage three non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.

On Wednesday (Nov. 13), Coulier, 65, appeared on TODAY to discuss how he's navigating a cancer diagnosis he received five weeks ago. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which begins in the lymphatic system and affects white blood cells, is a type of cancer caused by acquired genetic mutations. According to the American Cancer Society, roughly 80,620 people will be diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma this year.

While maintaining a sense of humor about the diagnosis, Coulier revealed the treatment he's gotten in the aftermath of the serious health news.

"In that time I’ve had three surgeries, I’ve had chemo, I’ve lost a little bit of hair," Coulier told TODAY host Hoda Kotb. "I kind of look like a baby bird now, but it has been a rollercoaster ride, for sure."

Adding that the B cell lymphoma is "very aggressive," Coulier shared that the symptoms began "very quickly."

"The onset of this growing lymphoma in my groin area was very quick so I said 'Something’s not right, I have a golf ball down here,'" he admitted. "And so we biopsed it, we took it out, and they said, 'You know, we wish we had better news for you, but you have B cell lymphoma, we need to get you into chemotherapy right away.'"

Coulier, who's married to photographer Melissa Bring, received the news while at home by himself, but upon telling his wife, she told him to "quit making jokes."

"It was a gut punch, but there was still another hurdle–we had to find out what the staging was," Coulier added.

While Coulier's bone marrow test showed that the cancer had not spread, the additional good news was that he was given a "90 plus percent" curability rate and that the cancer is "very treatable."

Doctors told Coulier that the growth had developed "rapidly" and during PET and CT scans, hotspots in his neck and groin were visible. The actor has since had one round of chemotherapy, will have another on Friday (Nov. 15), and has shaved his head.

Coulier has kept himself motivated with hockey and "life stuff" while also giving himself time to rest. He hopes for "total remission" by February of next year and is "treating this as a journey."

"If I can help someone who's watching today get an earlier screening–a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a breast exam, go do it. Because for me, early detection meant everything," he said.

Additionally, Coulier has detailed his cancer diagnosis on his podcast, Full House Rewind, where he's now joined by Full House and Fuller House star Marla Sokoloff as co-host. In the season two, episode ten intro, Coulier spoke openly about losing his niece, Shannon, and his mother, Arlen, to breast cancer.

"I saw what they went through, and if I can be even half as strong as they were during their battles, I'm going to put up a pretty good fight," he said in the video below.