Sam Neill blood cancer: Jurassic Park actor reveals non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis

Sam Neill, who played a main role in the Jurassic Park film series, has revealed he has undergone treatment for blood cancer
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Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill has revealed he has undergone treatment for blood cancer. Neill confirmed the news during an interview with The Guardian.

Neill, who starred in hit BBC series Peaky Blinders, has also said he wrote his memoirs whilst undergoing the treatment last year. He added that writing gave him “reason to live”.

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He explained how he first noticed swollen glands during publicity events for Jurassic World: Dominion in March 2022. He was then diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma - a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In the interview, Neill said: "I realised it [the book] was actually sort of giving me a reason to live. I would go to bed thinking: ‘I’ll write about that tomorrow... that will entertain me.’ And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.

"I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments. But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive."

Sam Neill attends the state memorial service for the late former Australian prime minister Bob HawkeSam Neill attends the state memorial service for the late former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke
Sam Neill attends the state memorial service for the late former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke

His book, which is called ‘Did I Ever Tell You This?’ and is due for release on March 21, reportedly goes into detail about how chemotherapy initially failed. However, a new drug was administered to the 75-year-old who is now cancer free.

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