Dolph Lundgren, "Rocky IV" Star and KCA Board Member, Featured in Forbes
Dolph Lundgren, who played the chiseled and bloodless Swedish antagonist to Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in the 1985 boxing drama Rocky IV, was recently featured in Forbes discussing his journey overcoming a kidney cancer diagnosis in 2015. Lundgren, 68, is currently a Member Emeritus of the Kidney Cancer Association’s Board of Directors.
Dolph Lundgren Opens Up About His Kidney Cancer Journey
In the article, Lundgren details his diagnosis, surgery, and disease recurrence and spread. Unfortunately, his cancer didn’t respond well to immunotherapy treatment and he experienced difficult side effects while attempting to maintain a rigorous work and travel schedule.
“You end up thinking about your own death and didn’t know what was going to happen,” Lundgren said of his diagnosis.
Eventually, his doctors discovered he had a genetic mutation that is most common in lung cancer patients. Treatment with the targeted cancer therapy alectinib reduced the size of his tumors enough that they could be treated.
“Within a few months, the tumor started shrinking. Within a year, 9o percent of all the tumors were gone.”
Lundgren’s current status is NED – no evidence of disease.
“It’s a tough fight when you get cancer, it’s a shock. The first thing is I think to stay positive to try to stay in shape as much as you can, stay physically active and try to stay mentally active… I think that my doctor told me that the body can hear itself to some degree. The body is an amazing instrument.”
In addition to his work with the Kidney Cancer Association, an autobiography “Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle”, set to release later this year, and a documentary called “Dolph: Unbreakable” continue Lundgren’s drive to share his story of resilience in the face of massive odds, as well as important lessons that emerged through his journey.
“I felt really good to not to have to keep [my cancer] as a secret and to be able to let people know that it’s okay to talk about it,” he said.
“We’re on this Earth for a limited amount of time, and it goes very quickly. So, we need to enjoy each moment each day. We should be good to each other, especially loved ones and be good to ourselves.”