{"id":3108,"date":"2023-10-17T13:31:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T11:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=3108"},"modified":"2023-10-17T13:31:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T11:31:30","slug":"sam-neill-gives-update-on-cancer-battle-says-hes-not-remotely-afraid-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=3108","title":{"rendered":"Sam Neill gives update on cancer battle, says he\u2019s \u201cnot remotely afraid\u201d to die"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fans have been praying for Jurassic Park star Sam Neill since he revealed his stage 3 blood cancer diagnosis in March.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in a new update, Neill revealed that the treatments will eventually stop working \u2014 but he is \u201cnot remotely afraid\u201d to die when the time comes.<\/p>\n<p>The 76-year-old New Zealand actor has been battling angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin blood cancer. He was diagnosed in March 2022, after noticing swollen glands while promoting the film Jurassic World Dominion. Neill first revealed his diagnosis to the public in March.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1573677370-768x512-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1573677370-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1573677370-768x512-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><br \/>\nLuis Javier Villalba \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<p>Neill underwent chemotherapy, but when treatments failed he went on a new, experimental chemotherapy drug. He will require new infusions every two weeks for the rest of his life, but thanks to the drug his cancer went into remission.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent interview with Australian Story, Neill said the drugs take a toll on him, saying the days after treatment are \u201cvery grim and depressing,\u201d but the drugs are \u201ckeeping [him] alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But while the drugs are buying him time, doctors informed him that the treatments will eventually stop working. However, Neill says he\u2019s ready to go when that time comes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m prepared for that,\u201d he told the outlet, saying that he is \u201cnot remotely afraid\u201d of death.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1164787282-768x566-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"566\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1164787282-768x566-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1164787282-768x566-1-300x221.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><br \/>\nMatteo Chinellato \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<p>While he\u2019s not afraid of dying, Neill says that retiring from acting \u201cfills me with horror.\u201d Which is why he has continued to work even while battling cancer: he most recently worked on an adaptation of the novel Apples Never Fall before the actors\u2019 strike shut down production.<\/p>\n<p>Neill made similar comments last March, after first revealing his diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not afraid to die, but it would annoy me,\u201d Neill said in an interview. \u201cBecause I\u2019d really like another decade or two, you know? We\u2019ve built all these lovely terraces, we\u2019ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I\u2019ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big. But as for the dying? I couldn\u2019t care less.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While taking a break from acting for cancer treatments, Neill took the time to write his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, although he stressed that it is not a \u201cbloody cancer book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1566246406-768x512-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1566246406-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_1566246406-768x512-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><br \/>\nLuis Javier Villalba \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<p>He recently said that he does not want to waste time dwelling on his cancer, which he says is out of his control anyway: \u201cI know I\u2019ve got it, but I\u2019m not really interested in it,\u201d Neill told Australian Story. \u201cIt\u2019s out of my control. If you can\u2019t control it, don\u2019t get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neill is perhaps best known to audiences as Dr. Alan Grant in the landmark blockbuster Jurassic Park, a role he reprised in two sequels, but he has had a long and versatile career that dates back to his breakout role in 1977\u2019s Sleeping Dogs.<\/p>\n<p>Other notable films of his include A Cry in the Dark, The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Possession and Dead Calm.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_93665128.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"713\" height=\"1000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_93665128.jpg 713w, https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_93665128-214x300.jpg 214w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px\" \/><br \/>\nFeatureflash Photo Agency \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<p>Sam Neill is one of the best actors around, and we wish him nothing but the best as he continues his cancer battle. We\u2019re glad to hear he is keeping such a positive attitude and not letting anything hold him back.<\/p>\n<p>Please share this story if you love Sam Neill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fans have been praying for Jurassic Park star Sam Neill since he revealed his stage 3 blood cancer diagnosis in March. Now, in a new update, Neill revealed that the treatments will eventually stop working \u2014 but he is \u201cnot remotely afraid\u201d to die when the time comes. The 76-year-old New Zealand actor has been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3113,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108\/revisions\/3113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}