Dave Coulier reveals he has tongue cancer, his 2nd diagnosis in a year, after beating non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Dave Coulier reveals he has tongue cancer, his 2nd diagnosis in a year, after beating non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Just months after beating stage III non-Hodgkin lymphoma, actor and comedian Dave Coulier revealed on Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with a second type of cancer. The Full House star said during an appearance on Today that he was recently diagnosed with p16 squamous carcinoma, a type of head and neck cancer, at the base of his tongue after he went in for a routine PET scan in October.

“So I said to the doctors … ‘Well, did this happen because of the lymphoma?’ And they said, ‘Totally unrelated,’” Coulier said.

Coulier, 66, recalled that just a year ago, he appeared on Today to talk about his first cancer diagnosis, non-Hodgkin lymphoma. An upper respiratory infection that caused major swelling in his lymph nodes prompted PET and CT scans, which led to his diagnosis in November 2024 and resulted in seven months of chemotherapy.

Coulier shared that Full House costar John Stamos visited him at his Michigan home last year. “He’s just a brother, and he just came to support me, and my wife Melissa — and the outreach of support has been amazing.”

Coulier said going through treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma took his physicality away from him. “So I had a lot of time to start thinking about what happened to my immune system. Why did my lymphatic system shut down?”

The actor said he began examining his everyday life, including the hygiene products he used and the clothing he wore. “I started to see that I was surrounded by toxicity, that all the products I was using in my life were filled with really bad things.”

Coulier said he wanted to start replacing all those toxic items but it was a daunting task, so he decided to create a digital marketplace that sells toxin-free, holistic products. “AwearMarket.com was born because I thought, ‘To replace all this stuff in my life is really difficult, I need to create a place where it’s easier for people,’” Coulier explained.

As for Coulier’s second cancer diagnosis, the actor said he’s currently undergoing 35 radiation treatments and will be done on Dec. 31. “I have a hard time swallowing and speaking,” he told People. “I sound like I’m drunk because I slur my words.” Coulier said he has also lost 10 pounds, mostly due to the discomfort he feels when eating, but credits his wife, Melissa Bring, a photographer and wellness advocate, for helping him with his diet.

“Prognosis is very good for p16 squamous carcinoma. So it has a 90-plus curability rate,” Coulier shared on Today. “Early detection saved my life, not just the first time, but the second time as well. … Colonoscopies, breast exams, prostate exams, they will save your life,” he emphasized.

“It turns out, if I hadn’t had that PET scan, then they wouldn’t have had this early of a detection and I’d have been in a world of pain soon,” Coulier told People of his second cancer diagnosis. “So as weird as this sounds, I’m now actually thankful for the first cancer, because it helped me detect this second one.”

Coulier told People in 2024 that cancer has affected him in other ways too. “I lost my mom to breast cancer. I lost my sister Sharon to breast cancer. She was 36 years old. I lost my niece, Shannon. She was 29 years old,” he said, adding that in 2024, his older sister Karen was dealing with a cancer diagnosis alongside him.


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