Dave Coulier thought he had ‘a little bit of a head cold’ before ‘overwhelming’ cancer diagnosis

Dave Coulier was caught off guard when what he thought was just a mild cold turned out to be stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I went from, ‘I got a little bit of a head cold’ to ‘I have cancer,’ and it was pretty overwhelming,” the “Full House” alum, 65, told People in an interview published Wednesday.

“This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.” 

Coulier’s main symptom leading up to his diagnosis was the swelling of his lymph nodes. Per the Mayo Clinic, other patients may also experience chest pain or a fever.

Three days after learning he has cancer, the comic was informed of the type and told it was “aggressive.”

However, after his bone marrow test came back negative, he was given some more positive news, as the changes of his cancer being curable went from “low to 90 percent rage.”

Now that he is a few weeks into his illness, Coulier admitted he has his “good days” and “bad days.”

“Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he said on a special episode of his “Full House Rewind” podcast Wednesday.

“I’m not going to try and hide anything. I would rather talk about it and open the discussion and inspire people.”

Coulier has a family history of the disease, sharing that his mom, sister and niece died from breast cancer.

However, the beloved sitcom star shared that seeing what the women in his life went through has helped him find the courage to be “as strong as they were.”

“I don’t know how to explain it, but there was an inner calm about all of it, and I think that that’s part of what I’ve seen with the women in my family go through,” Coulier said.

“They really instilled that in me and inspired me in a way because they were magnificent going through what they went through, and I just thought, ‘I’m OK with this too.’”

He added, “I’ve had an incredible life on a journey with incredible people around me and I’m OK. It does change perspective for sure.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Coulier opened up about his diagnosis for the first time on the “Today” show.

In a moment of introspection, he told host Hoda Kotb, “I’m OK with whatever the news [is] going to be no matter how devastating.”

He reiterated, “I’ve had an incredible life. I’ve had the most amazing people in my life. This has been an extraordinary journey, and I’m OK if this is the end of the journey.”

The comedian first rose to fame playing Joey Gladstone on “Full House” from 1987 to 1995. He then reprised his role on “Fuller House” for five seasons.

In January 2022, his co-star Bob Saget died at age 65 from a brain bleed after hitting his head.

Coulier honored his longtime pal at the time, writing via X, “My heart is broken. I love you, Bob. Your forever brother, Dave.”