Phoebe Tonks
Sam Neill has given a huge health update to his fans live on television after his chemotherapy treatment stopped being effective.
The actor, who is best known for films such as Jurassic Park and tv shows like Peaky Blinders, revealed his diagnosis of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma back in 2022, and immediately underwent a gruelling treatment regimen to get on top of the disease.
However, it soon became clear the treatment was no longer effective, prompting the star to fear the worst - yet a new experimental treatment option soon changed everything.
"I was on chemotherapy. Pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive," he told 7NEWS, before the chemo stopped working altogether.
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"I was at a loss, and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal, obviously," Neill said, though he eventually discovered CAR T-cell therapy, a specialised treatment that ‘genetically modifies patients' blood cells’ and is in clinical trials in the region.
It was this innovative treatment that proved to be a game changer, as Neill went on to explain: ”I've had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body. This is an extraordinary thing.”
Explaining more about how the process worked, Hematologist Miles Prince added that the treatment involved a process where ‘[we] turbocharge those cells to then be able to now recognize the myeloma, which was not visible to the immune system before and then jump on it and kill it.’
Describing the treatment as ‘science at its best’, Neill also went on to admit it had rekindled his desire to create more movies, as he told reporters: “It's time I did another movie!”
The positive update is a a far cry from where Neill was just four short years ago, when he went public with the news of his cancer battle.
"I can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments,” he previously told the Guardian. "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."
Common symptoms of T-cell lymphoma are:
You may also have symptoms called B symptoms, which are commonly caused by lymphoma:
Doctors are interested in B symptoms because it helps them decide the stage of the lymphoma and how to treat it.