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Dolph Lundgren has opened up about considering “legal suicide” during the lowest points of his cancer treatment, before later learning he had been “misdiagnosed.”
The Rocky IV star, 68, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and announced he had been given the all-clear in 2024.
In his new memoir, Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle, the actor and martial artist recalled asking his brother for assistance ending his own life.
As Entertainment Weekly reported, Lundgren wrote: “When I was deep into the cancer treatments and thinking about the possibility of killing myself, my brother, Johan, was going to help me, because I didn’t know what kind of condition I might be in once I made that decision.”
He continues: “I could be in really bad shape by then and not capable of completing the suicide on my own. There are countries in Europe, like Switzerland, that permit legal suicide for people who are terminally ill, but I still might have needed someone there to help me.”
Dolph Lundgren, pictured in 2025, has opened up about his cancer treatment in his new memoir (AFP/Getty)
Lundgren writes in his book that he was “depressed and had almost given up all hope” before meeting a cancer specialist, Dr. Alexandra Drakaki.
He had originally been told he had kidney cancer in 2015, and was subsequently told that his tumors had spread in 2020. However, when Dr. Drakaki reviewed his samples in early 2022 and ordered new tests she realized he had been “misdiagnosed” and actually had lung cancer.
In 2024, Lundgren shared a video on social media announcing that he was “finally cancer free.”
Dolph Lundgren says he contemplated ‘legal suicide’ during cancer treatment (AFP/Getty)
In the video, shot on a hospital bed in Los Angeles, the star said: “About to go in and get rid of that last dead tumor. Since there are no cancer cells in my body anymore, then I guess I’ll be cancer-free, so I’m looking forward to this procedure. It’s been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life. It’s the only way to go.”
He said the procedure he was undergoing was a lung ablation, a “minimally invasive procedure that destroys tumor tissue by either heat or cooling mechanisms,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
In the caption underneath the video, he wrote: “Health update – finally cancer free with gratefulness and excitement for a bright future. Thanks for all your support always.”
Later the actor shared an update on his Instagram story, writing: “Thank you for all of your wonderful messages and supportive comments,” according to Fox News. “It’s gonna take a little more to break me,” he added, referencing his dialogue in Rocky IV when he tells Sylvester Stallone: “I must break you.”
