Actor Dolph Lundgren opens up after secret 8-year cancer battle

Actor Dolph Lundgren, who rose to fame in his unforgettable turn as Russian super boxer Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV,” revealed his silent eight-year battle with kidney cancer during a Wednesday interview on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” CNN reported.

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Doctors removed tumors from his kidney in 2015, he said. After tests every six months for five years, everything was OK. But in 2020 he had what he thought was severe acid reflux that turned out to be more tumors in the same area, CNN reported.

“You kind of look at your life and go, ‘I’ve had a frickin’ great life,” he said. “I’ve lived like five lifetimes in one already with everything I’ve done. So it wasn’t like I was bitter about it.” He had multiple tumors removed. In 2021, he was in London working on “The Expendables” and “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom” when he went to another doctor because he didn’t feel like eating and had pain in his hands and feet,” the Insider Reported. He said they told him he should take a break and spend more time with his family and friends.

He finally asked how long he had and they told him “two or three years,” according to the Insider.

He said he went to another doctor who said there were many options for how the cancer could be treated,” the Insider reported.

Another oncologist found a mutation that made his condition treatable by medication. The tumors have shrunk 90%, Lundgren said.

Dr. Alexandra Drakaki said the cancer is “responding really well. “There’s some lesions that we cannot see them anymore. That is above expectations,” Drakaki said.

Lundren became emotional talking about how he feels after all he has been through.

“You know, you appreciate life a lot more,” he said. “You appreciate every day.”

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