Sam Neill has just disclosed that he is undergoing treatment for stage-three blood cancer.
The “Jurassic Park” actor revealed the news in a candid new memoir titled Did I Ever Tell You This?, set for release on Tuesday. The actor recently interviewed with The Guardian, where the 75-year-old discussed the revelation and many other personal subjects.
“The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying,” Neill opens in chapter one, “I may have to speed this up.”
Neill clarified that the book is not a cancer memoir, but the devastating illness acts as a “spiral thread” throughout the memoir.
Neill first noticed his swollen glands during the press tour for “Jurassic World Dominion” in March last year and was quickly diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
The actor briefly relied on chemotherapy before the treatment failed, leading him to receive a new chemotherapy drug which he will continue to use monthly for the rest of his life, even though he is now cancer free.
“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” he tells The Guardian. “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.”
