Dolph Lundgren has revealed that he has been fighting cancer secretly for years. Lundgren is perhaps best known to fans for playing Soviet-Russian fighter Ivan Drago in the Rocky movie series.

Yesterday, the Swedish actor appeared to confirm that his condition is now terminal when he spoke openly about his diagnosis for the first time.

Lundgren, whose film credits include He-Man (1987), The Punisher (1989), and The Expendables (2010), revealed that doctors first found a tumor in his kidney eight years ago. After it was successfully removed, scans over the following few years were “fine,” but in 2020, an MRI revealed “more tumors,” which led to a relapse of his condition.

“[There was a] tumor in my kidney, and they took it out in 2015 […] but then they did a biopsy, and it was cancerous,” Lundgren explained on In Depth With Graham Bensinger.

Lundgren said he began to realize the serious nature of his situation when doctors found the second tumor growing in his liver in 2020 after years of clear scans.

It had previously been thought that the tumor might be removed, as the first one had been, but the actor was told it had grown too big for surgery. In addition, the disease advanced to Lundgren’s lungs, spine, liver, and stomach before the final diagnosis of fatal malignancy was made.

Therefore, I asked him, “How long do you think I have left?” recalled the 65-year-old.

“I think he said two or three years, but I could tell in his voice that he probably thought it was less.”

Lundgren said he “felt sorry” for his loved ones more than anything else, including his fiancée Emma Krokdal, 25, and his two children, Ida Lundgren, 26, and Greta Lundgren, 21.

“[I decided] I might as well get a second opinion,” he added.

“Within three months, things were shrinking. We are currently working to remove the tumors’ residual scar tissue.

The actor added: “The prognosis is that hopefully, when they take these out, there’s no cancer activity, and the medication that I’m taking is gonna suppress everything else.”

Meanwhile, Lundgren’s oncologist said: “I hope it’s years. I doubt that it has been months. To find newer treatment targets as things change within his body, my hope and objective are to try to keep him on this medication for as long as I can.

Lundgren, who acted as the villain in 1985’s Rocky IV, admits to having taken steroids earlier in his life, pondering the notion that their use could be related to his cancer.

He said I’m not sure if it’s connected to the cancer. “Of course, it occurred to me that it might have been related. I gave it some thinking.

As he fights cancer, let’s all wish Dolph Lundgren the best of luck in the future.

If you think we can finally find a cancer cure, please share this article!

Share on Facebook