Life has a weird way of throwing a curveball right when you think you’ve finally rounded third base and are heading for home. For Dave Coulier—the guy we all grew up with as the goofy, woodchuck-impersonating Uncle Joey on Full House—the last couple of years haven't been about "cutting it out." They’ve been about survival.
If you haven’t kept up with the news, you might still picture him at a stand-up club or hanging out with John Stamos. But honestly, Dave has been through a medical ringer that would break most people. Twice.
The First Blow: Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
It all started back in October 2024. Most of us just thought he was lying low, maybe working on his Full House Rewind podcast. Behind the scenes, though, a simple upper respiratory infection turned into something terrifying. Dave noticed major swelling in the lymph nodes around his groin and armpits. You know how it is—you think you’re just run down.
It wasn't just a cold.
Doctors dropped the hammer: Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Specifically, a very aggressive B-cell type. He went from a head cold to a cancer ward in literal days. He told the Full House cast in a group text because he didn't want them hearing it from a tabloid. Stamos, Candace Cameron Bure, the whole gang—they were on it immediately. Stamos even flew out to sit with him during chemo, offering to just be there while Dave slept.
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The treatment was brutal. Six rounds of chemotherapy. He lost his hair, dealt with "chemo brain," and faced that deep, dark "what if" that comes with a Stage 3 diagnosis. By March 2025, the news we all wanted arrived: he was cancer-free.
He was a grandfather by then, too. His son, Luc, had a baby boy on March 27, 2025. Life was looking up.
A Second Shock: The Tongue Cancer Diagnosis
Now, this is where the story gets really heavy and where most people lose track of what happened to Dave Coulier.
In late 2025, during what was supposed to be a routine PET scan to make sure the lymphoma hadn't come back, doctors saw something "flare" on the screen. It wasn't the lymphoma. It was a completely unrelated, second form of cancer.
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Basically, he was diagnosed with P16 squamous carcinoma—a type of HPV-related tongue cancer.
Imagine that. You just finished seven months of grueling chemo, you're finally breathing easy, and then you're told you have a different kind of cancer at the base of your tongue. Dave described it as a "shock to the system," and honestly, who wouldn't? The silver lining—if you can even call it that—is that the constant monitoring for his first cancer is the only reason they caught the second one so early.
Where He Is Now in 2026
As of early 2026, Dave is finishing up the tail end of a very intense recovery period. He had to undergo 35 rounds of radiation, which wrapped up right around New Year's Day.
While chemo for the lymphoma was a "systemic" battle that made him feel foggy and nauseous, radiation for the tongue cancer was a "different animal." It’s localized, but it’s draining in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen someone go through it.
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He hasn't just been sitting around, though. He’s turned this whole ordeal into a mission. He launched Awear Market, a digital marketplace focused on holistic wellness and toxin-free products. His wife, Melissa Bring, who has her own history with health battles like Lupus, has been his backbone through the whole thing, helping him overhaul his diet and lifestyle.
Why This Matters for You
Dave’s story isn't just a celebrity health update. It’s a massive PSA for early detection. He’s been incredibly vocal about one thing: get your checkups. Whether it’s a colonoscopy, a prostate exam, or a mammogram, Dave is proof that catching things before you have symptoms is the difference between a "winable" fight and a losing one. He’s currently working with the V Foundation to raise money for cancer research, using his voice (and his humor) to help others navigate the same dark places he's been.
The prognosis for the tongue cancer is actually very high—around a 90% curability rate—because they caught it so fast. He’s lean, he’s focused, and he’s still making people laugh. He’s even joked that he "lucked out" by getting "good cancers," which is a pretty wild thing to say, but it shows where his head is at.
Actionable Steps for Your Own Health:
- Audit Your Screening Schedule: If you’re over 45, or if you have a family history of cancer, don't wait for "symptoms." Many of the things Dave faced didn't hurt until they were already advanced.
- Listen to Your Body: That "respiratory infection" swelling was the only reason Dave found the lymphoma. If something feels off or stays swollen for more than a week, see a doctor.
- Support the Cause: Check out the V Foundation or look into Dave’s Awear Market if you’re looking for ways to integrate cleaner products into your life or support research that helps people like him.
Dave Coulier is still here, still a grandfather, and still a "brother" to the Full House family. He’s just a little tougher than we ever realized Joey Gladstone could be.
Stay on top of your screenings. It’s the one thing Dave wants everyone to take away from his "roller coaster" of a year.