Dolph Lundgren, 65, reveals he has been battling lung cancer for eight years and worries his steroid use is to blame: Rocky IV star riffs on movie’s catchphrase as he talks about tumor, saying ‘if it dies, it dies’
- Actor Lundgren, 65, has opened up on how he was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015
- He said he was given only a few years to live by one doctor after the cancer returned in 2020
- Lundgren has also said he believes his use of steroids caused the cancer
Actor Dolph Lundgren has revealed he has been battling cancer for eight years and speculated whether his past use of steroids for bodybuilding is to blame
The Swedish actor opened up about his battle on ‘In Depth with Graham Besinger’ and revealed he was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015.
Lundgren, 65, says he went into remission but then the cancer returned in 2020, and was told he had 2-3 years left to live by one doctor.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pf7g-MrwT4U%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Pictured: Lundgren with actor Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV
In the interview, Lundgren can be seen here in the day after he had a whole host of tumors removed from his body
Lundgren went for a second opinion and the treatment he is now being administered has resulted in the tumors shrinking.
In a clip from the interview, while still wearing a hospital gown, he says: ‘It’s the day after my surgery, they took out one tumor, then they took out another two they found and another three small ones.
‘Hopefully it’s cleaned out, if it dies, it dies.’
Lundgren had been referring to his memorable quote in the 1985 film Rocky IV, after his character Ivan Drago kills Apollo Creed during their exhibition match.
Speaking to Bensinger, he spoke of how he discovered he had cancer again in 2020.
Lundgren says: ‘In 2020, I was back in Sweden and I had some kind of acid reflux, I didn’t know what it was so I did an MRI.
‘They found that there were a few more tumors around that area.’
He continues: ‘They found one more tumor in the liver, so I was like aw s**** okay.
‘At that point it started to hit me that this was something serious. The surgeon called me and said it had grown, it was too big, it had grown to the size of a small lemon.
‘I asked them how long do I have left, I think he said 2-3 years but I could tell in his voice he thought it was less. I thought that was it for sure.’
Lundgren said that the use of steroids had an impact on his body
Pictured: Lundgren, who says he has been battling cancer since 2015
Pictured: Lundgren and his fiancée Emma Krokdal in April of this year
He said: ‘I tried steroids back in the 80s, 90s. I don’t know if that is something to do with the cancer, of course it struck me as it could have something to do with it.
‘I thought about it, you always think you’ve made a mistake. I think maybe there is some connection between testosterone therapy and cancer.
‘I was on steroids when I was younger, on and off for maybe ten years. Depending on the kind of movie I made.’
Fiancée Emma Krokdal told Bensinger: ‘His mouth got really sore, his hands got sore and he couldn’t eat anything.
‘That was a struggle, he was losing weight. We realized it was a lot worse than we thought, they started talking about tumors in the lung, stomach, spine, outside the kidneys.’
Pictured: Lundgren in character as Ivan Drago in the 1985 film Rocky IV
In the interview, Lundgren admits to having used steroids during the 80s and 90s
His daughter Ida Lundgren told Bensinger: ‘It hit me when I had a deep conversation with my Dad about what would happen if he passed away.
‘That was a horrible conversation, it was a tough time. I have to be strong for my sister.’
Lundgren said he then went seeking a second opinion on his diagnosis and spoke to Dr Alexandra Drakaki.
Following a change in treatment, Lundgren says with within three months his tumors had been shrinking between twenty and thirty per cent.
Lundgren continues: ‘You just appreciate being lucky enough to be alive, and you appreciate every moment there is.’
Largely known for his roles in action packed films, Lundgren’s breakthrough role was as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
He would later reprised his role as Drago in Creed II in 2018.
After a long spell of working on direct-to-video films during the 90s, he returned to Hollywood in 2010 in The Expendables, alongside Rocky co-star Sylvester Stallone.
Since then he has reprised his role of Gunnar Jensen in the second and third movie in the series, with a forth expected later this year.
The full episode is due to debut later this month.
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