The actor Dolph Lundgren has told fans that he is 'finally cancer free' in a video filmed from his hospital bed.
The Rocky IV and Creed II star previously announced that he'd been diagnosed with cancer in 2015 after doctors found a tumour on his kidney.
He had said that the tumour was removed and 'things were fine' for the first five years afterwards, but in 2020 he started experiencing acid reflux and sought medical advice.
Doctors discovered 'a few more tumours' in his abdominal area, with Lundgren going into surgery to remove six tumours before another one was found on his liver.
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This tumour was 'like the size of a small lemon' and couldn't just be surgically removed, and a doctor eventually told him he ought to spend more time at home with his family.
Putting two and two together, the He-Man actor asked how long he had left and was told 'two to three years', leaving Lundgren thinking that 'was it for sure'.
However, he sought a second opinion and another doctor found a mutation in his tumour that was similar to those among lung cancer sufferers, which opened the door for specialist treatments.
Now in a video posted to Instagram, Lundgren said it had been a 'rough ride' but the end was in sight as he was about to go into surgery.
He said: "Here I am at UCLA, I’m about to go in and get rid of that last dead tumour.
"Since there are no cancer cells in my body anymore, I guess I’ll be cancer-free, so I’m looking forward to this procedure.
"It’s been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life, I mean, it’s the only way to go."
Lundgren then signed off the video saying 'alright, they're coming to get me, see ya', as it sounded like he was about to be taken into surgery.
He had posted that video on 26 November, while he then added a thank you message to everyone who had wished him well in his Instagram Stories just a few hours ago so it seems as though the surgery went well.
In the past Lundgren had wondered whether steroid use in previous decades could have contributed to the cancer, admitting that after being diagnosed he started thinking about a possible 'mistake' which might have caused it.
“I don’t know if that’s anything to do with the cancer, of course it struck me that it could be something to do with it," he told In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
“I thought about it, because you always think that you’ve made a mistake in your health, [or] you know, healthcare, why you get cancer.
“Maybe it’s only me, but you kind of blame yourself to some degree for it.
“But – you know – I think maybe testosterone, there’s some connection between testosterone therapy and HGH – growth hormone therapy – and cancer for some people."
Joe Harker