Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill talks about his journey as he bravely faces his stage three blood cancer diagnosis: 'I'm not afraid to die'
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In a heartbreaking announcement, acclaimed actor Sam Neill has revealed he is facing a terrifying health battle.
Despite the news of the Jurassic Park star being diagnosed with stage-three blood cancer, Neill insists he is 'not frightened of dying.'
Neill, 76, shared that chemotherapy failed to treat his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the white blood cells. With chemotherapy unsuccessful, he was left in a 'fight for life'.
'Everything was a new world and a rather alarming world,' Neill said.
'I had three or four months of reasonably conventional chemotherapies, which are brutal.'
Despite the grim prognosis, a new experimental drug is now working to combat Neill's cancer called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. He has been in remission for 12 months and is aware that the drug’s effects won’t last forever.
'I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,' Neill said.
'I'd be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I'm not afraid of it.'
Neill found out about his illness on his first trip back to New Zealand after the lockdowns, which made seeing his family impossible for about two years.
Neill’s son, Tim, shared that his dad had only been in New Zealand for barely an hour when a doctor called and told him the grim news.
'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,' Tim shared.
As Tim visited his dad during his chemotherapy sessions, he felt terrified seeing his dad in a weak state.
'I was shocked, and I broke down, and I could barely hug him. He was just, you know, bones and skin. And then he was giving me a hard time for being upset about it and saying I was stressing him out, but I was going, "What are you talking about, Dad?"'
And just when Neill’s family thought that everything was going well, they received much worse news: The cancer was back and had become more serious.
Neill was then put on the experimental cancer drug and started to show signs of improvement.
He has been in remission for a year now but is still 'prepared' for the time the drug might stop working.
'I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it. It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it,' he said of the disease.
Neill gets infusions every two weeks and will do so for the rest of his life. He described the gruelling sessions as 'very grim and depressing'.
The actor first shared the news of his illness in his autobiography, Did I Ever Tell You This? where he talks about 'possibly dying' in the first chapter of his memoir.
'I didn't know really how long I had to live,' he said.
'And I thought, yeah, I should probably write something down for my children [and] my grandchildren because I may not be here in a couple of months, and it would be good for them to have a sense of me, you know, and some of the things that I've done.'
During treatment, Neill has tried to stay positive, saying, 'I found myself with nothing to do. And I’m used to working. I love working. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship, and all these things. And suddenly, I was deprived of that. And I thought, “What am I going to do?”'
To cope, he worked on his memoir as a distraction which also gave him a reason to get through the day.
The book looks back on Sam Neill's impressive acting career, which has spanned 50 years, and provides insight into his sudden illness.
Neill claimed he 'never had any intention to write a book'.
'But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live, and I would go to bed thinking, "I'll write about that tomorrow… that will entertain me."' the actor added.
'And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn't have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.'
Reflecting on life, Neill also shared: 'I'm not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I'd really like another decade or two, you know?'
'We've built all these lovely terraces, we've got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I've got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.'
'But as for the dying? I couldn't care less.'
You can watch a preview of Sam Neill’s memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, below:
Source: Youtube/Text Publishing.
Our thoughts are with Sam Neill as he continues his treatment and his fight with cancer. We have full faith in his courage and wish him all the best.
Members, what are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments below!
Despite the news of the Jurassic Park star being diagnosed with stage-three blood cancer, Neill insists he is 'not frightened of dying.'
Neill, 76, shared that chemotherapy failed to treat his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the white blood cells. With chemotherapy unsuccessful, he was left in a 'fight for life'.
'Everything was a new world and a rather alarming world,' Neill said.
'I had three or four months of reasonably conventional chemotherapies, which are brutal.'
Sam Neill has been diagnosed with stage three blood cancer. Image source: Instagram/@samneilltheprop.
Despite the grim prognosis, a new experimental drug is now working to combat Neill's cancer called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. He has been in remission for 12 months and is aware that the drug’s effects won’t last forever.
'I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,' Neill said.
'I'd be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I'm not afraid of it.'
Neill found out about his illness on his first trip back to New Zealand after the lockdowns, which made seeing his family impossible for about two years.
Neill’s son, Tim, shared that his dad had only been in New Zealand for barely an hour when a doctor called and told him the grim news.
'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,' Tim shared.
As Tim visited his dad during his chemotherapy sessions, he felt terrified seeing his dad in a weak state.
'I was shocked, and I broke down, and I could barely hug him. He was just, you know, bones and skin. And then he was giving me a hard time for being upset about it and saying I was stressing him out, but I was going, "What are you talking about, Dad?"'
And just when Neill’s family thought that everything was going well, they received much worse news: The cancer was back and had become more serious.
Neill was then put on the experimental cancer drug and started to show signs of improvement.
He has been in remission for a year now but is still 'prepared' for the time the drug might stop working.
'I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it. It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it,' he said of the disease.
Neill gets infusions every two weeks and will do so for the rest of his life. He described the gruelling sessions as 'very grim and depressing'.
The actor first shared the news of his illness in his autobiography, Did I Ever Tell You This? where he talks about 'possibly dying' in the first chapter of his memoir.
'I didn't know really how long I had to live,' he said.
'And I thought, yeah, I should probably write something down for my children [and] my grandchildren because I may not be here in a couple of months, and it would be good for them to have a sense of me, you know, and some of the things that I've done.'
During treatment, Neill has tried to stay positive, saying, 'I found myself with nothing to do. And I’m used to working. I love working. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship, and all these things. And suddenly, I was deprived of that. And I thought, “What am I going to do?”'
To cope, he worked on his memoir as a distraction which also gave him a reason to get through the day.
Sam Neill on the launch of his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? Image source: Instagram/@samneilltheprop.
The book looks back on Sam Neill's impressive acting career, which has spanned 50 years, and provides insight into his sudden illness.
Neill claimed he 'never had any intention to write a book'.
'But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live, and I would go to bed thinking, "I'll write about that tomorrow… that will entertain me."' the actor added.
'And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn't have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.'
Reflecting on life, Neill also shared: 'I'm not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I'd really like another decade or two, you know?'
'We've built all these lovely terraces, we've got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I've got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.'
'But as for the dying? I couldn't care less.'
You can watch a preview of Sam Neill’s memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, below:
Source: Youtube/Text Publishing.
Members, what are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments below!
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