Dave Coulier, best known for playing Joey Gladstone on “Full House,” is battling cancer again.
Coulier revealed on Tuesday during an appearance on “Today” that he has been he’s been diagnosed with tongue cancer. This diagnosis comes just months after he revealed he beat Stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“To go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of whoah, it’s gone, and then to get a test that says, well now you’ve got another kind of cancer … it is a shock to the system,” Coulier told Craig Melvin during his Dec. appearance.
He explained that a couple of months ago, a PET scan showed something “flared” at the base of his tongue, prompting concern.
Though an initial biopsy was negative, the growth continued to flare and grow, leading him to consult an ear, nose, and throat oncologist. Further tests, including a CT scan, MRI, and a second biopsy, confirmed the diagnosis: early-stage P16 carcinoma, or oropharyngeal tongue cancer.
Doctors told Coulier that this new cancer was “totally unrelated” to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Coulier recounted.
The “Fuller House” star is undergoing a total of 35 radiation treatments, scheduled Monday through Friday until Dec. 31. He shared a hopeful note: “I get to start the new year saying, I finished radiation yesterday! It’s kind of serendipitous.”
However, Coulier admitted he is currently experiencing side effects like nausea, “radiation brain,” and pain on the left side of his face and tongue following the biopsy.
The experience of facing two cancer diagnoses in one year has been emotionally and psychologically draining, he said, noting that it’s also a “big drain” on his wife, Melissa Bring. In a May 2025 interview with Parade, Bring revealed that Coulier had been “prepared” to die during his fifth round of chemo for the lymphoma.
Regarding the cause of his tongue cancer, Coulier added, “They said it could stem from having an HPV virus up to 30 years ago… they said mine activated and turned into a carcinoma.”
Coulier confirmed that his throat cancer was discovered “early enough” and is “very treatable.”
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