Sam Neill “pleased to be alive” after cancer diagnosis

Sam Neill has had a storied career that has spanned nearly five decades, earning him numerous accolades, a wide fan base and a knighthood. But just this month, Sam Neill revealed that he recently faced a tremendous challenge, having been diagnosed with stage-three blood cancer, which has thankfully gone into remission.

In an interview with The Guardian promoting his memoir “Did I Ever Tell You This?”, Sam Neill explained that writing the book gave him at least one reason to keep going following the cancer diagnosis. “I found myself with nothing to do…And I’m used to working. I love working. I love going to work. 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?’…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.’ And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.”

Sam Neill first started experiencing symptoms–swollen glands–while promoting 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion. After undergoing chemotherapy for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, Sam Neill was found to be free of cancer. Still, he must take a chemo drug every month for the remainder of his life.

On his attitude regarding the cancer diagnosis, Sam Neill said, “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.”

In the first chapter of his memoir, Sam Neill writes, “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying…I may have to speed this up.” And Sam Neill hasn’t exactly slowed down since his cancer diagnosis. He’s even set to co-star in the Peacock limited series Apples Never Fall this year.

Sam Neill’s book, which covers his life, career and cancer diagnosis, is due out on March 21st.

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