Rocky IV actor Dolph Lundgren revealed he secretly fought an eight-year battle with cancer that was originally thought to be terminal.
During an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger published earlier this week, the Swedish actor opened up about his diagnosis for the first time publicly.
The Creed II actor shared he had a tumor removed from his kidney in 2015. A biopsy revealed the tumor was cancerous.
So, Lundgren followed protocol and had scans done regularly for five years.
Then in 2020, while the actor was back in Sweden, he was experiencing what felt like acid reflux. An MRI revealed Lundgren had more tumors in his kidney... and one in his liver.
At the time, his doctor told him he had about two to three years left and to "take a break and spend more time with your family."
The Expendables actor told Bensinger:
"I thought it was it for sure."
"I've had a great life. I've lived like five lifetimes in one, so it wasn't like I felt bitter, but I felt sorry for my kids and my fiancée."
But Lundgren took a "screw it" approach and sought a second opinion.
After reevaluating the tumor, a new doctor found a mutation that could be treated with an off-label use of medication.
And it's been effective.
Lundgren said:
"Within three months things were shrinking by 20, 30%."
"2022 was basically watching these medications do their thing, and finally things had shrunk about ĺ
\u201c@WMCActionNews5 He must break it\u201d— Action News 5 (@Action News 5) 1683891901
And many shared words of encouragement.
\u201c@CBSNews Super smart and charismatic guy. Go for it Drago, we are rooting for you.\u201d— CBS News (@CBS News) 1683823500
\u201c@people Hope he'll get better soon\u201d— People (@People) 1683779052
\u201c@Variety Oh wow! One of my favorite action stars. Speedy recovery. Come on big guy, you can beat this. All the best.\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1683748505
\u201c@WMCActionNews5 I hope he gets better.\u201d— Action News 5 (@Action News 5) 1683891901
\u201c@CNN Stay strong champ\u201d— CNN (@CNN) 1683844222
Up next for Lundgren is having scar tissue removed.
"The prognosis is that, hopefully when they take these out there's no cancer activity and the medication that I'm taking is going to suppress everything else."
While it's not been an easy one, Lundgren shared his journey has helped him "appreciate life a lot more."
"You appreciate every day."
"You just appreciate being lucky to be alive."
