Actor Sam Neill reveals he battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

"Jurassic Park" prima Sam Neill revealed that while he was connected circuit promoting "Jurassic World Dominion" past year, he was besides battling shape 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The 75-year-old told nan BBC successful an question and reply Friday that he first learned astir his test successful March 2022 aft uncovering lumpy glands successful his neck.

Neill initially believed his prospects were grim: "I'm crook, I'm dying," he told nan BBC were his first thoughts.

Fortunately, Neill said he is successful remission now, though he still faces "dark days" and difficult challenges, for illustration losing his hairsbreadth during his first information of chemotherapy — a curen he still receives, though his tumors person gone away.

"More than thing I want my beard back," Neill told nan BBC. "I don't for illustration nan look of my look 1 bit."

Sam Neill arrives astatine nan AACTA Awards astatine nan Sydney Opera House connected Dec. 8, 2021, successful Sydney, Australia. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for AFI

Non-hodgkin's lymphoma is simply a crab that affects nan lymphatic system, and occurs erstwhile achromatic humor cells turn abnormally, and turn tumors passim nan body, according to nan Mayo Clinic. It is astir communal successful group complete 60-years-old, aliases successful group pinch suppressed immune systems.

While crab has been a difficult obstacle for Neill, he said he prefers to attraction connected nan positives and connected surviving life to nan fullest.

"I'm not acrophobic of dying. What I don't want to do is to extremity living, because I really bask living," Neill told nan BBC. "I've regarded it arsenic an adventure, rather a acheronian adventure, but an escapade nevertheless. And nan bully days are conscionable awesome and erstwhile you get immoderate bully news it's perfectly exhilarating."

Neill told nan BBC his "ferocious type of aggressive" crab inspired him to commencement penning astir his life — a distraction that transformed into a passion for nan "Peaky Blinders" actor, and nan stories he was penning quickly became a full-blown memoir astir his unwellness and his 50-year career: "Did I Ever Tell You This?"

"I didn't deliberation I had a book successful me, I conscionable thought I'd constitute immoderate stories. And I recovered it progressively engrossing," Neill told nan BBC. "A twelvemonth later, not only person I written nan book - I didn't person a shade writer - but it's travel retired successful grounds time."

He added that his book isn't astir cancer, but alternatively astir his life experiences, for illustration gathering Barbara Streisand. 

"The past point I want is for group to obsess astir nan crab point because I'm not really willing successful cancer," Neill said. "I'm not really willing successful thing different than living."

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