Dave Coulier opens up about cancer treatment after Stage 3 diagnosis

'Full House' star David Coulier says unwavering support from his wife, Melissa Coulier, and friends such as John Stamos got him through his treatment.

Full House alum Dave Coulier is recalling the toughest parts of his cancer treatment after receiving a diagnosis late last year.

The American actor learned he had Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in November — a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic and immune systems — revealing that he first noticed symptoms in October after contracting a respiratory infection that caused swelling in his lymph nodes around his groin and armpits.

“It swelled up immediately,” Coulier told Today in November. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m either really sick, or my body’s really reacting to something.”

Subsequent scans, along with a biopsy, led to a diagnosis. Within three days, Coulier was in treatment.

He provided an update near the end of last year, telling NBC’s Today that in the five weeks following his diagnosis, he had undergone three surgeries, begun chemo and lost some of his hair.

Coulier fell ill again after completing a sixth and final round of chemotherapy in late February, telling Parade magazine that in the depths of treatment, it’s hard not to contemplate death.

“I started to get pretty sick,” he told the publication, “I didn’t know that I had caught a virus. I was in bed for about 10 days just trying to figure out, ‘Do I have a cold? Am I just feeling the ramifications of this cumulative effect of the chemo? What is going on?’”

In a similar turn of events that led to his initial diagnosis, Coulier’s recent illness, which he had presumed was another cold, was caused by “deposits” in his lungs.