Actor Dolph Lundgren (65) has been secretly fighting cancer for eight years. For the first time, the action star (“Rocky IV”, “The Expendables”, “Masters of the Universe”) is now speaking about his illness. In a very personal and emotional interview.
In 2015, doctors had found a tumor in his kidney, it was revealed the native Swede in an interview with journalist Graham Besinger (36, „In Depth with Graham Besinger“).
“They removed the tumor in LA,” he continues. “They did a biopsy and it was cancer.”
Dolph Lundgren als He-Man im Film „Masters of the Universe“ (1987)
Lundgren: “Then I did scans every six months, then every year, and then it was fine for five years.”
But in 2020 it will return Krebs return. This time the doctors find six tumors – in his kidneys and liver.
“It hit me like a blow. Because it was really serious stuff,” the actor said. Actually, Lundgren should be operated on again. But the tumors were already so large that the doctors decided against surgery. The proposed treatment was systemic therapy, which resulted in side effects such as diarrhea and severe weight loss for the actor.
“I think they thought I was a lost cause,” says Dolph Lundgren. His doctor advised him at the time: “Take a break, spend time with your family.”
So the actor asked directly: “How long do I have?” The doctor gave him “two to three years” at the time, the 65-year-old recalls. “But I could tell from his voice that it was less – and I thought, well that’s it then.”
Especially for his children Ida (27) and Greta (21), who come from his marriage to Anette Qviberg (57, married from 1994 to 2011), and his fiancée Emma (26) made him all so sorry, Lundgren recalls. He himself was less “bitter”. “You look at your life and you think, ‘I’ve had a bloody great life.’
Dolph Lundgren with his fiancee Emma Krokdal in West Hollywood on March 12
As his condition continued to deteriorate, the action star got a second opinion.
oncologist dr Alexandra Drakaki makes a discovery, finds a mutation in one of his tumors that is common in lung cancer. And begins treatment with medication.
The action star could hardly believe what happened next: “Within three months, the tumors shrank by 20 to 30 percent.” By the end of 2022, his tumors had even shrunk by around 90 percent.
His prognosis is now much better, explains his doctor, who was added to the interview via video. “I always say his cancer is melting away now,” she says happily. “There are regions in his body where the cancer is no longer visible.”
Lundgren hopes to be over the hill now. “There is no more cancer activity,” he summarizes thoughtfully. What have you learned over the past few years? “You appreciate life more,” says the actor. “I’m lucky to be alive.”
