Actor Sam Neill has shared a devastating update amid his treatment for a rare blood cancer.
The 76-year-old New Zealand actor revealed his body failed to respond to chemotherapy, leading to a decision to administer a new anti-cancer drug which has led to remission for more than 12 months.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sam Neill returns to work following cancer diagnosis.
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However that drug has an expiry.
“I’m prepared for that,” Neill told ABC’s Australian Story.
In 2022, Neill announced that he was diagnosed with the stage three rare blood cancer, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
“I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it … It’s out of my control.”
He went on to tell the program that he is not “remotely afraid” of dying and said the treatment he was receiving felt like he had done “10 rounds with a boxer”.
The actor will receive the “grim” treatment fortnightly for the rest of his life.
Neill said dying would be “annoying” but what truly fills him with “horror” is the thought of retiring.
Despite the intense medication, Neill has returned to work and is currently on the Gold Coast filming the adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel Apples Never Fall.
Neill revealed in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This? that the symptom he first experienced was swollen glands.
While doing publicity for Jurassic World Dominion he noticed the symptom and it led to his diagnosis in March 2022.
The star had returned to his home of New Zealand and just an hour later received a call from his doctor sharing the news.
His son Tim told Australian Story of the diagnosis: “When he hung the phone up, we sat down and we had a little bit of a cry together. It was supposed to be a happy day. He didn’t get to stay.
“I was shocked, and I broke down and I could barely hug him.”
Along with returning to work, Neill has been spending time at his vineyard, in his garden or with his grandchildren.
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