Dolph Lundgren, best known for his portrayal of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, has been fighting cancer since 2015. While he received treatment, his cancer came back in 2020, and doctors told Lundgren he had two to three years to live. However, in November 2024, the 67-year-old actor revealed he is now cancer-free.
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"Health update - finally cancer-free with gratefulness and excitement for a bright future. Thanks for all your support always," Dolph Lundgren wrote in an Instagram post announcement.
"Here I am at UCLA, I'm about to go in and get rid of that last tumor," he said in the video. "Since there are no cancer cells in my body anymore, I guess I'll be cancer-free, so I'm looking forward to this procedure. It's been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life. I mean, it's the only way to go."
His fans were ecstatic to learn that Lundgren had beaten cancer. Celebrities such as Chuck Norris were quick to celebrate the news. "Wonderful news! So happy to hear this, Dolph. God bless," Norris wrote. "We are so happy to hear that! God can do miracles!" one user wrote. A second one said: "Cancer survivor here congratulations."
A Cancer Battle, Won
Lundgren revealed his battle with cancer started in 2015 in an interview with Graham Besinger in May 2023. While he went into remission, 2020 brought some bad news to Lundgren. "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," he said.
The MRI showed that, alongside multiple tumors, he had a tumor in his liver "At that point, it started to hit me that this was something serious," Lundgren said. His surgeon would later say that the tumor had grown and was 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," he continued. "I thought that was it for sure." However, after he received a treatment change following a second opinion, his tumors began shrinking significantly. Eventually, he had surgery which removed the tumors.
Dolph Lundgren played Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and Creed II. He also joined his Rocky co-star, Sylvester Stallone, in The Expendables movies, playing Gunnar Jensen.
