Actor Sam Neill has revealed he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer, writing in a memoir that he was "possibly dying" from the illness diagnosed a year ago.
The New Zealander, who burst to fame after starring as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park", said he began treatment last March for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Neill, 75, makes the revelation in his book "Did I Ever Tell You This?" which is being released next week.
In the opening chapter, written while undergoing chemotherapy, Neill said: "The thing is, I'm crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up."
The actor told The Guardian he is now in remission but will continue to undergo chemotherapy for the remainder of his life.
"I can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments," he said. "But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive."
Neill's vast acting career began in the 1970s and has spanned dozens of roles in TV and film, including "Peaky Blinders", "The Hunt for Red October", and "The Piano".
He is currently preparing for a role in a television adaptation of Liane Moriarty's bestselling novel "Apples Never Fall", which will be filmed in Australia.
When he's not acting, Neill also runs vineyards in the picturesque central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.
© 2023 AFP
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Alongfortheride
Hang in there Sam! I have visited your little stall at the end of your driveway many times in Central. A stunning property
bass4funk
Sad, sad news.
ジョージ
Great actor with a soothing voice who starred in two horror classics that scared me in my youth: “In The Mouth of Madness” and “Event Horizon”. And, of course, “Dead Calm”.
I hope he can somehow pull through, but it doesn’t sound good.
wallace
As a cancer survivor, my sympathy goes out to all suffering from it.
virusrex
"Blood cancer" is a terribly unspecific term that may be used on purpose by Neil to avoid having too close a focus on the diagnosis, but judging from how he talks about the disease it would be safe to assume it is serious enough to expect it will become the cause of his death.
At least he seems to be taking the situation well and getting something positive in the middle of his personal tragedy, hope he can still enjoy his life and maybe even experience a recovery.
CPTOMO
Looks like blood cancer is a very specific term according to the experts. Get well Sam.
The three main types of blood cancer
https://www.cancercenter.com/blood-cancers
wallace
The type doctors know the most about is called Hodgkin's lymphoma (or Hodgkin's disease). (All others are called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.) It's the most common form of blood cancer in adults, accounting for over half of all diagnosed blood cancer cases.
"Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill revealed that while he was on tour promoting "Jurassic World Dominion" last year, he was also battling stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Neill said he is in remission now, though he still faces "dark days" and difficult challenges, like losing his hair during his first round of chemotherapy — a treatment he still receives, though his tumors have gone away.
virusrex
Both accounts are incorrect of course "blood cancer" is a very unspecific term, it does not even say what kind of the many different types of blood cancer he is talking about, compared with a proper diagnosis it is a clearly unspecific term, obviously used on purpose instead of the actual diagnosis. Each type of cancer of blood tissue has different prognosis and risks, even at the same stage.
One thing is what he assumes, another is what everybody else would, specially medical professionals. "Possibly dying" from the disease is very different from having that as the medical prognosis, it is likely but not something certain without knoing more details.
Arrrgh-Type
Sam's tweets about his life on the farm in New Zealand are a delight. Looks like he has really been enjoying life out there. Hopes he gets back to good health soon.
wallace
The only cancer Sam Neill is concerned about is the one he has.
stage III adult non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Cancer is found (1) in groups of lymph nodes both above and below the diaphragm; or (2) in lymph nodes above the diaphragm and in the spleen.
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/stage-iii-adult-non-hodgkin-lymphoma
During my cancer op, several lymph nodes were removed.
RKL
wallaceToday 08:44 am JST
The only cancer Sam Neill is concerned about is the one he has.
Exactly. And his blood cancer is very specific, according to the medical experts.
And obviously his quote he is "possibly dying" comes from his medical diagnosis informed to him by his medical experts.
virusrex
Obviously, what is not specific at all is the term "blood cancer",
Quote where in the article this is written, this can be his personal conclusion, for a stage III non-Hodgkin lymphoma the 5 year survival rates can still be good enough to be optimistic. Unless you can present details about the diagnosis (obviously much more specific than it just being "blood cancer") you are just making an assumption not supported by the available information.
RKL
Of course the term wouldn't be specific if you have no medical background.
So for you, Yale Medicine's website answers that basic question:
"What is blood cancer?
Cancer is caused by a dysfunction in cellular growth and behavior. In a healthy body, new white blood cells are regularly generated to replace old, dying ones. The excessive production of white blood cells in the bone marrow leads to blood cancers. "
https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/blood-cancers
virusrex
The term is not specific for everybody, specially those that understand a real diagnostic, if you think this is an specific term what is the survival rate for this specific health problem?
What is the point of bringing a reference that actually contradict your claim? precisely because the term include several "blood cancers" (as in plural) is why it is not specific.
virusrex
If the term includes many different kinds of cancers, each with widely different treatments, prognosis, etc. That means your link actually proved the term is not specific but the opposite. That is what anybody that can read even the quote can easily confirm.
The definition made by Yale Medicine is a perfectly valid source to disprove your claim, even if you try to misrepresnt it as if it was saying the opposite of what it actually says.