Actor Dolph Lundgren reveals he has cancer: ‘I thought that was the end’

2023-05-12 20:26:00

The ‘Rocky IV’ and ‘Expendables’ star has had cancer for eight years, which has spread to multiple organs.

By Valentin Dechambre for Le Point

Star of action films, Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, 65, has revealed that he has been battling cancer for eight years.
© DyD Fotografos/Geisler-Fotopress / Geisler-Fotopress / picture alliance / Geisler-Fotop

Published on 05/12/2023 at 8:26 p.m.

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Swe bigger fight. Swedish actor and Hollywood star Dolph Lundgren revealed that he had cancer for eight years, relays The Parisian. The 65-year-old actor announced the news in an episode of podcast « In Depth With Graham Bensinger », explaining that, in 2015, doctors found a cancerous tumor in the kidneys. Tumors that, for five years, doctors in Los Angeles monitored but, in 2020, others appeared. Dolph Lundgren underwent surgery to remove six, before another, larger one was discovered.

“At that point I started to realize that this was something serious,” he said. “They did a CT scan to prepare for the operation. The surgeon called me and said, “No, it’s gotten too big. It’s too big. We can’t remove it. It’s the size of a small lemon.” Dolph Lundgren credits his cancer with taking steroids he abused in the 1980s and 1990s to gain muscle mass. “I stopped taking it when I stopped doing movies where I took my top off every scene,” he explained.

Two or three years to live?

Dolph Lundgren, known for his role as boxer Ivan Drago in the movies Rocky, continued to work despite the diagnosis. He shot the fourth installment of the franchise Expendables and more films in 2021. His doctors, however, advised him to take a break and spend time with his family. When the actor asked how long he had left to live, the doctor replied two or three years. “I thought that was the end, that’s for sure,” he said. “I had a good life. I lived five lives in one, so I didn’t feel bitter, but I felt sorry for my children and my fiancée.

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With nothing left to lose, Dolph Lundgren sought a second opinion. A doctor re-evaluated her tumor and discovered a mutation that suggested it could be treated with a new drug. The actor’s state of health has improved considerably since taking this drug. “In the space of three months, the tumor has shrunk by 20 to 30%. The action of these drugs caused the tumor to shrink by about 90%. “The future has therefore become clearer for the actor, who is hopeful of defeating his cancer once and for all.