Actor Sam Neill, known to the public for his role in “Jurassic Park”, has announced that he has beaten cancer after almost five years of treatment, following a revolutionary therapy for a rare form of lymphoma.
The 77-year-old star told the Australian station 7News that he went through an extremely difficult period, in which chemotherapy stopped giving results, and the evolution of the disease made him believe that he was living his last months.
“For about five years I have been living with a specific type of lymphoma and I underwent chemotherapy, a rather painful experience, but which kept me alive”, the actor said, according to variety.
At some point, the situation worsened, and the classic treatments no longer worked. “I felt lost and it seemed like I was dying, which obviously was not desirable at allNeill confessed.
The rescue came from a state-of-the-art treatment, CAR-T therapy, an innovative method that genetically modifies immune system cells to fight cancer. After this intervention, the actor says that his analyzes show a complete remission.
“I just had a CT scan and there’s no more cancer in my body, which is amazing. I’m really, really excited that this happened.” he stated.
Sam Neill was originally diagnosed in 2023 with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma while promoting the Jurassic Park movie Jurassic World Dominion (2022). The first symptoms appeared in the form of inflamed nodes, but the diagnosis later confirmed the aggressive form of cancer.
The actor also emphasized the emotional impact of the disease, but also the change in perspective on life: “I’m not afraid to die, but it would upset me. I’d like to have another decade or two. I built all these terraces, we have olive trees and cypress trees. I want to be here to see everything mature. And I have my wonderful grandchildren. I want to see them grow up.”
Sam Neill is now keen to get back on set and is campaigning to expand access to CAR-T therapy in Australia, where the treatment is only available in clinical trials.
“It’s time to make another movie,” said the actor, hinting at a possible career comeback.
