Sam Neill has recently opened up about his health by revealing in an interview that he was diagnosed with blood cancer.
The “Jurassic Park” star told The Guardian in a feature published on Friday about the “darkest moments” of the past year, when she was diagnosed with her cancer.
“Those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and make me grateful for every day and extremely grateful for all my friends. Just happy to be alive,” he said.
Neil, 75, experienced swollen glands while promoting 2022’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” according to the Guardian. Soon after noticing the swelling, the actor’s doctor diagnosed him with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
According to the American Cancer Society, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma is stage 3 when the disease is present either in lymph nodes on both sides (above and below) of the diaphragm or in lymph nodes above the diaphragm and in the spleen.
Neil reportedly received chemotherapy and started on a new chemotherapy drug when the first treatment began to fail. The Guardian reported that now cancer-free Neill would continue to take the drug every month “for the rest of his life”.
The actor, who has appeared in the TV series “Peaky Blinders” and “The Sullivans,” has revealed his upcoming book, “Did I Ever Tell You This?” Also talked about.
“I never had any intention of writing a book. But as I went on and kept writing, I realized that it was actually giving me a reason to live and I went to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about it tomorrow… whatever will entertain me’ ,” They said. “And so it really was a lifesaver, because I couldn’t go on doing anything, you know.”
However, readers may also like Neil’s “Did I ever tell you this?” As a “Cancer Book”.
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic World: Dominion”.
(Universal Pictures)
“I can’t stand them,” he said. “I will never read another bloody cancer book in my life.”
Instead, the actor views his illness as a “spiral thread” that runs throughout the book.
Earlier in the Guardian story, Neill said he “couldn’t care less” about dying but wanted “a decade or two more” to enjoy his life and home.
“We’ve built all these beautiful terraces, we have these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it mature,” he said. “And I have lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them grow up.