dolph lundgrenKnown for his role as an actor ivan drago in 1985 “Rocky IV” and 2018 “Creed II,” Shared that he has been battling cancer for the last eight years.
The Swedish actor, 65, spoke publicly for the first time about his diagnosis in a video interview “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” published on Wednesday, adding that his cancer was initially thought to be terminal before he sought a second opinion and found a drug that worked for him.
Lundgren said he was diagnosed with a tumor in his kidney and had it removed in 2015. A biopsy of the tumor was found to be cancerous.
Then, in 2020, Lundgren said he experienced what he thought was acid reflux, which led him to have an MRI that revealed more tumors in his kidney area. Later a tumor was also found in his liver.
Lundgren said that his doctor told him to “take a break and spend more time with his family”. When Lundgren asked how long he had left to live, the doctor replied about two or three years.
“I thought it definitely was,” she said. My fiancé.”
Lundgren said that with nothing to lose, he sought a second opinion. The new doctor reevaluated his tumor, finding a mutation that suggested it could be treated with a drug with off-label uses.
Lundgren's condition improved dramatically after taking the medication, he said.
“Within three months things were shrinking by 20, 30%,” he said. “2022 was basically seeing these drugs doing their job, and eventually things shrunk by about 90%.”
Lundgren said she is now in the process of having scar tissue removed from her tumor.
“The prognosis is that, hopefully, when they take these out there will be no cancer activity and the medication I'm taking will suppress everything else,” he said.
The actor said his health journey has made him “appreciate life a lot more.”
“Appreciate you every day,” he continued. “You appreciate being lucky enough to be alive.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dolph Lundgren, Ivan Drago share cancer diagnosis in ‘Rocky IV'