According to a recent interview with The Guardian, actor Sam Neill has revealed that he is currently receiving treatment for stage-three blood cancer. In his candid memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This?”, which is set to be released on Tuesday, the 75-year-old Jurassic Park star discusses his career, life on his New Zealand farm, and the nature of celebrity, as well as his own mortality.
In March 2023, Neill revealed that he had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Stage 3 Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, following swollen glands that were first noticed during publicity for Jurassic World Dominion. The cancer is in remission according to Neill, but will require ongoing chemotherapy for the rest of his life.
In the opening chapter of the book, Neill writes, “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up.” Neill started writing vignettes from his life as a way to keep busy and to serve as a form of therapy while undergoing treatment last year.
“I found myself with nothing to do,” Neill said. “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?’”
Neill had no intention of writing a book, but as he continued to write, he found that it gave him a sense of purpose and provided a reason to keep going. “It was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know,” he said.
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In “Did I Ever Tell You This?”, Neill reveals himself to be a great storyteller, sharing anecdotes from his life, including growing up in New Zealand, his family’s eccentricities, and amusing stories from film sets. He says that his book is not a cancer memoir, but rather, his illness is a “spiral thread” that runs throughout the narrative.
Last year, while doing publicity for “Jurassic World Dominion”, Neill first experienced swollen glands and was later diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. He underwent chemotherapy and is currently on a new chemotherapy drug, which he will continue to receive monthly for the rest of his life, although he is now cancer-free.
Sam has also assured his fans to not worry as he is doing perfectly fine right now.
