āFull Houseā actor Dave Coulier has been diagnosed with Cancer for a second time.
Coulier, who played Joey Gladstone on the show, said on Today heās now undergoing treatment for tongue Cancer.
Coulier, 66, was diagnosed in October with HPV-related oropharyngeal tongue Cancer. This diagnosis came just months after he announced he was Cancer-free after battling Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma that was diagnosed last year.
āA year has flown by like that. Itās been a roller coaster,ā Coulier said Tuesday.
āTo go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of āWhoa, itās gone,ā and then to get a test that says, āWell, now youāve got another kind of Cancerā ⦠it is a shock to the system,ā Coulier said.
His first Cancer was discovered after he noticed a golf-ball-sized lymph node in his groin.
This time, he had no symptoms or signs before his second Cancer diagnosis. The Cancer was found during a follow-up scan.
āA couple of months ago, I had a PET scan, and something flared on the scan,ā Coulier said. āThe doctor said, āWe donāt know what it is, but thereās something at the base of your tongue.'ā
Coulierās doctor then performed a biopsy.
āIt was very painful. Itās like if you bit your tongue, but the pain just lasted every single day,ā he said.
But that biopsy didnāt show any signs of Cancer.
āWe thought, āThis is great. Weāre still not sure what it is, but there arenāt any Cancer cells,'ā he said.
During his next PET scan in October, doctors noticed the growth on his tongue had flared again and grown.
Coulier went to an ear, nose and throat oncologist and after a CT scan and an MRI, doctors did another biopsy.
These biopsy results came back positive for cancerous cells.
āThey said itās totally unrelated to my non-Hodgkinās lymphoma. This is a new Cancer. ⦠I said, āAre you kidding me?'ā Coulier said.
āThey said it could stem from having an HPV virus up to 30 years ago. A lot of people carry the HPV virus, but they said mine activated and turned into a carcinoma,ā Coulier said.
The actor remains optimistic.
āWe found it early enough where itās very treatable. ⦠Itās got a 90% curability rate,ā Coulier said. āThe doctor said the prognosis is good, but weāre going to start radiation immediately.ā
And he still has a sense of humor.
āMy joke usually is ⦠Iām doing really well for a guy with Cancer,ā he said.
