Dave Coulier is facing another cancer battle — just months after celebrating remission.
The 66-year-old Full House actor revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with tongue cancer, shortly after announcing he had beaten Stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Speaking on Today, Coulier admitted the news hit him hard.
“To go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of, ‘Whoa, it’s gone,’ and then to get a test that says you’ve got another kind of cancer… it is a shock to the system.”
He explained that a PET scan taken a few months ago revealed something unusual.
“The doctor said, ‘We don’t know what it is, but there’s something at the base of your tongue.’”
A biopsy initially came back clear, but when Coulier underwent another PET scan in October, the mass had grown. He then saw an ear, nose and throat oncologist, who ordered a CT scan, an MRI, and another biopsy — this time confirming early-stage P16 carcinoma, a type of oropharyngeal tongue cancer.
Doctors told him the new diagnosis was unrelated to his lymphoma.
“They said this is a new cancer… I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
According to Coulier, the cancer may have stemmed from an HPV infection contracted decades earlier.
“They said it could stem from having an HPV virus up to 30 years ago… mine activated and turned into a carcinoma.”
Fortunately, the cancer was caught early and is considered highly treatable. Coulier is currently undergoing 35 radiation treatments, Monday through Friday, through Dec. 31.
“I get to start the new year saying, ‘I finished radiation yesterday!’ It’s kind of serendipitous,” he said.
The treatment hasn’t been easy. Coulier described dealing with nausea, “radiation brain,” and pain on the left side of his face and tongue where tissue was removed during a biopsy. He also spoke candidly about the emotional toll on both him and his wife, Melissa Bring.
“It’s emotionally and psychologically draining. And it’s a big drain on my wife, which is the hardest part for me — seeing how it affects her.”
Despite the fear and fatigue, Coulier said there’s a silver lining.
“Had I not followed up with that PET scan, we would’ve never found this carcinoma. This could have progressed immensely, and I would be in trouble.”
Coulier was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October 2024 and announced he was cancer-free on April 1 of this year. In a previous interview, he admitted he had mentally confronted the possibility of dying during his fifth round of chemotherapy.
“Everybody’s mind goes there,” he said. “You think, ‘Wow, this is really serious’ and ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ I’ve seen it so often in my family.”
