Credit: Netflix
In 1987, a brand-new show premiered on ABC, drawing millions of viewers. Full House starred Bob Saget as Danny Tanner, a newly single dad trying to raise his three young daughters after the sudden death of their mother.
Knowing the struggles he is about to face, Danny’s brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) and best friend Joey (Dave Coulier) move in to help.
Full House also starred Candace Cameron Bure as eldest daughter DJ, Jodie Sweetin as middle daughter Stephanie, and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as baby Michelle. The show ran for eight seasons and was one of the most beloved shows for preteens and teens at the time.
Related: Bob Saget’s Shocking Cause of Death Has Been Confirmed
In 2016, Netflix brought the Tanner family back together with its new series Fuller House. In the revival, Candace Cameron Bure returned as DJ, now a single mom to three boys after the death of her firefighter husband.
Stephanie and DJ’s best friend Kimmy move into the house DJ grew up in, along with Kimmy’s daughter Ramona, to help DJ adjust.
While Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier did not star in the new series, they made multiple guest appearances over its five seasons. The three men had big changes going on, but they would always be there for their favorite girls.
Related: ‘Full House’ Star Apologizes After Being Called “The Rudest Celebrity Ever”
It has been four years since we last saw the Tanner family, and sadly, some heartbreaking things have happened since then.
On January 9, 2022, Bob Saget was found dead in his Orange County, Florida hotel room while he was touring the country for his stand-up show. He reportedly fell earlier that day and hit his head. He suffered from a subdural hematoma and died in his sleep. Mr. Saget was just 65 years old.
And now, another one of the show’s stars has received a devastating cancer diagnosis.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Dave Coulier, AKA Uncle Joey, revealed that he has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of cancer — stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
He said that he had gotten an upper respiratory infection back in October, which had caused severe swelling in his lymph nodes. The swelling did not go down, and one lymph node became as large as a golf ball. A biopsy was performed, and that was when Coulier received the news that changed his life.
“Three days later, my doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive,’” he recalls.
“I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming,” he says. “This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”
Related: John Stamos Reveals How He Warned ‘Full House’ Wife on College Scandal
Coulier said that he has B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which is “rare” and aggressive. According to the Mayo Clinic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that causes the body to attack its own immune system.
The actor said that, after he received his diagnosis, he and his wife immediately reached out to their friends in the medical field so they could fight the disease “head-on.”
“We all kind of put our heads together and said, ‘Okay, where are we going?’ And they had a very specific plan for how they were going to treat this. At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90% range. And so that was a great day.”
Related: John Stamos Leaks His Favorite ‘Full House’ Episode
On his podcast, Full House Rewind, Coulier also revealed that he had “preemptively” shaved his head before he started chemotherapy.
“I started the podcast wearing a hat, and I said, I’ve always been a man of many hats, but this hat has special significance because a couple of weeks ago, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” he says of the debut episode where he opens up about his diagnosis. “That was really a conscious decision of, I’m going to meet this head-on, and I want people to know it’s my life. I’m not going to try and hide anything. I would rather talk about it and open the discussion and inspire people.”
Despite the seriousness of his diagnosis, Coulier said that he is keeping a positive attitude, especially for his wife and son, who is currently expecting his first child.
He also revealed that he has lost multiple family members to various forms of cancer. Both his mother and his sister Sharon died of breast cancer. He also lost his niece to cancer, and his older sister Karen is currently battling cancer as well. The strength of the women in his family is what he has been using to keep fighting as hard as possible.
He admitted that he has good days, and he has bad days, but he will continue to fight for more good days.
We wish Dave Coulier all the best in his fight against non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. If you notice any changes in your health, consult your doctor.