Dave Coulier Faces New Health Battle with Tongue Cancer

Dave Coulier, the actor best known for his role in “Full House,” has announced that he is undergoing treatment for tongue cancer, just months after overcoming non-Hodgkin lymphoma. During an interview on the Today show on December 2, 2023, the 66-year-old shared the shocking news of his diagnosis, which was confirmed in October.

Coulier revealed that he was diagnosed with HPV-related oropharyngeal tongue cancer. He emphasized the unexpected nature of this diagnosis, stating, “To go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of, ‘Whoa, it’s gone,’ and then to get a test that says, ‘Well now you’ve got another kind of cancer,’ it is a shock to the system.” He had no symptoms prior to a follow-up scan that unexpectedly revealed the new cancer.

“It was a really tough year, chemotherapy was grueling,” Coulier explained. After a recent PET scan, doctors identified an issue at the base of his tongue. He described the pain as persistent, akin to biting his tongue, which lasted daily. “They said it’s totally unrelated to my non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This is a new cancer,” he added, expressing his disbelief at the news.

In a previous update, Coulier had announced he was cancer-free. Now, he is battling early-stage P16 carcinoma, also known as oropharyngeal tongue cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, P16 is a protein that indicates the presence of HPV, specifically the high-risk type HPV-16. Coulier explained that the cancer could have arisen from an HPV infection he had up to 30 years ago. “A lot of people carry the HPV virus, but they said mine activated and turned into a carcinoma,” he noted.

Coulier remains optimistic about his treatment. “We found it early enough where it’s very treatable. It’s got a 90 percent curability rate,” he said. His medical team has assured him that the prognosis is good, and he is now undergoing radiation therapy, which consists of 35 treatments scheduled five days a week through the end of the year.

He described radiation as “a whole different animal than chemo,” highlighting that while it doesn’t feel as aggressive, it comes with its own set of side effects, including nausea and localized pain. “That’s not 100 percent healed yet,” he added.

Reflecting on the emotional toll of his health challenges, Coulier acknowledged the impact on his mental well-being and that of his wife, Melissa. “It’s emotional. It’s psychologically draining. It’s also a big drain to my wife, which is the biggest drain on me, seeing how this affects her,” he revealed. Despite the challenges, he remains “cautiously optimistic,” noting that the discovery of his new cancer was fortuitous.

“The silver lining here is that I had cancer, which helped me detect my other cancer,” he stated. Coulier credited his proactive healthcare approach, saying, “Had I not gone in and listened to my doctors and made sure that I got that PET scan to follow up, we would have never found this carcinoma.”

As he prepares for the upcoming year, he noted, “I get to start the new year saying, ‘I finished radiation yesterday!’ It’s kind of serendipitous.” Coulier’s journey highlights the importance of regular health screenings and staying vigilant about health changes, even after a successful cancer battle.