May 11, (THEWILL) – Swedish actor, Dolph Lundgren, has stated that he has been privately battling cancer for eight years.
The actor opened up about how he was diagnosed with Renal Cell cancer for the first time with Graham Bensinger during an appearance on ‘In Depth With Graham Bensinger’.
“This is just the first time I’ve spoken about it. So, if you can save one person’s life who was in my situation then it’s worth it, for sure,” he said.
According to the Swedish actor, doctors in Los Angeles found a cancerous tumour in his kidney in 2015. He started doing scans every six months, it was later extended yearly.
However, in 2020, when he got back to Sweden, he had acid reflux and he was told to do an MRI, which revealed that there were more tumours around the affected kidney.
After he underwent surgery, during which six tumours were removed, doctors also discovered he had more tumours in his liver as well.
“At that point, it started to hit me that this was kind of something serious.
“They did a scan to prepare for surgery. And the surgeon called me and said, ‘No, it’s grown now. It’s too big. We can’t take it out. It’s like the size of a small lemon'” the actor added.
He had to start a systematic therapy but when he arrived in London to film ‘The Expendables 4’ and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ in 2021, it was discovered that the doctor in Cedars didn’t give out the necessary information he needed.
“I didn’t hear from the people at Cedars for six months. They never called me or anything,” Lundgren stated.
The doctor then advised him to take a break and spend more time with his family.
“So, I kind of asked him, ‘How long do you think I got left?’ I think he said two or three years, but I could tell in his voice that he probably thought it was less,” the actor revealed.
“I thought it was it for sure, you kind of look at your life going. 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, I feel sorry for my kids and my fiancée and the people around me because I’m still a fairly young guy and fairly active,” Lundgren added.
Admitting that he was feeling depressed, he decided to seek a second opinion. His physician was able to treat his kidney cancer by targeting a mutation he had that is common in lung cancer.
“If I’d gone on the other treatment, I had about three or four months left.
“From there, 2022 was basically watching these medications do their thing and finally things that shrunk into about 90%. Now I’m in the process of taking out the remaining scar tissue of these tumours,” the actor further narrated.
Speaking about the prognosis, Lundgren revealed that he is hopeful.
He said, “Hopefully when they take this out, there is no cancer activity, and the medication that I’m taking is going to suppress everything else.”
Speaking about the lesson learnt from his ordeal, he stated that he has learnt to appreciate life more.
“I appreciate every day I can be with people I love. I just appreciate, you know, having been lucky enough to be alive and appreciate every moment there is,” he stated.
