LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, who will soon appear in the upcoming films 'The Expendables 4' and 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom', has spoken about his eight-year struggle with cancer, which was once thought to be terminal. However, he claims that a more effective round of treatment has since saved his life. On the Wednesday, May 10 episode of 'In Depth With Graham Bensinger', the 65-year-old actor revealed for the first time that he was initially diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2015.
Lundgren claimed that after going into remission, the illness returned in 2020. At that time, a doctor diagnosed him with terminal cancer and gave him only 2-3 years to live. After the operation, he was symptom-free for almost five years before it was discovered that he had further tumors in his kidney and liver during a doctor's visit while traveling to Sweden in 2020, reports TMZ.
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Dolph Lundgren was a 'lost case'
When the cancer returned, doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center told Lundgren he had tumors in his lungs, stomach, spine, and kidneys, and according to Lundgren's fiancee Emma Krokdal, he accepted the idea that he was a "lost case" and would probably die shortly. Lundgren claimed that his physician had given him two to three years to live and had advised him to take a sabbatical from work to spend more time with his loved ones, reports Page Six.
"It wasn’t like I was bitter about it. It was just like, you know, feel sorry for my kids and my fiancee and people around you," he said in the May 10 Bensinger interview. Since the tumor growth was too large to be surgically removed, Lundgren had to begin chemotherapy, which developed various side effects. Before giving up, the Swedish actor decided to get a second opinion.
'You just appreciate being lucky enough to be alive'
Lundgren eventually sought a second opinion from UCLA Medical Center oncologist Dr Alexandra Drakaki and was started on a more contemporary medication. Lundgren claims the procedure, which he received while filming both 'The Expendables 4' and 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom', worked well in 90% tumor size reduction.
The oncologist from Santa Monica claimed that Lundgren was "sick-looking" and "completely absent" at the appointment when she first met him. In exchange for doing a second biopsy, Drakaki offered to find a mutation that would enable Lundgren to recover with medication. "She was like, 'This is really good news'," Krokdal recalled to Bensinger. "There’s so many medications that target this mutation. We’re going to start with this one that seems to be the most effective."
Lundgren claims he now requires another surgery but is confident that following the procedure, he will have "no cancer activity." As things change within his body, Dr Drakaki explains, "My hope and goal is to try to keep him on this medication as long as possible and just keep getting biopsies as things change within his body to try to identify newer targets for treatment." The entire experience has changed the "Creed II" star's perspective on life. When asked about his present-day viewpoint, Lundgren responds, "You just appreciate being lucky enough to be alive," reports Deadline.