Dave Coulier Opens Up About 45-Lb Weight Loss Amid Cancer Battle

Dave Coulier is speaking directly to the fans who noticed something was different — and he’s not sugarcoating it.

The Full House star, 66, posted a candid Instagram video last week addressing the questions and concerns that had been building in his comments section. People had noticed he looked thinner. His voice had changed. And rather than let the speculation continue, Coulier sat down and explained exactly what’s been happening.

“I haven’t posted in quite a while, and the last time I did, some of you said I look differently, and I sound differently, and I do,” he said in the clip. “What you’re seeing is the side effects of extensive radiation that I went through for carcinoma in my throat.”

He’s lost 45 pounds. He hasn’t been able to eat solid food in months. And the radiation has affected his ability to speak. “So yeah, you’re right on, with what you’re seeing and what you’re hearing,” he said.

Two Cancers in Less Than Two Years

To understand where Coulier is now, you have to go back to October 2024, when he revealed on NBC’s Today show that he’d been diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It was a gut punch — but he fought through it, and by March 2025, he told Parade he was in remission.

Then came the second diagnosis.

In late 2025, Coulier learned he had HPV-related P16-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma — a head and neck cancer found at the base of his tongue. He told Today host Craig Melvin in December 2025 exactly what that felt like: “To go through chemotherapy and feel that relief of ‘Whoa, it’s gone,’ and then to get a test that says, ‘Well, now you’ve got another kind of cancer’ … it is a shock to the system.”

He began radiation therapy immediately. And the physical changes fans have been seeing are a direct result of that treatment. Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center have documented how radiation for oropharyngeal cancers can scar or damage the voice box, resulting in a hoarse, raspy, or weak voice. Trouble swallowing — a condition called dysphagia — is also a known side effect, which explains the months without solid food.

Good News in the Latest Scans

But Coulier didn’t just show up to deliver hard news. He had something hopeful to share too.

“We got our PET scans back, and the prognosis looks good for both the carcinoma in my throat and the lymphoma,” he said. “We’re very pleased with all of that.”

His hair is starting to grow back. He’s been making artwork, doing creative writing, and working on AwearMarket.com, an online marketplace he founded to curate non-toxic products. Life, slowly, is coming back.

This update tracks with what Coulier shared during a live appearance on Good Morning America in February 2026. “It’s been a roller coaster ride for sure,” he said then. “I’m in remission with both cancers. And what a journey this has been.” He also used that platform to push something he clearly feels strongly about now: early detection. “I never wanted to be the poster boy for cancer, believe me, but now I feel like I can encourage people to get those prostate exams and mammograms and just talk to your doctors and get ahead of this. Because even though I’m in remission, I feel like cancer is always in the rear-view mirror … so early detection really means everything.”

The Full House Family Shows Up

The response to Coulier’s video was immediate and emotional. Kelly Rizzo, the widow of the late Bob Saget, left a comment that stopped a lot of people: “You are so very loved, Dave. And truly no one is stronger than you. God bless you wonderful friend. Wish Bob was here to make you laugh.”

Andrea Barber, who played Kimmy Gibbler alongside Coulier for eight seasons, kept it warm and characteristically her: “You’re as handsome and funny as ever. I love you, poo poo!”

Coulier, best known for playing the lovable Joey Gladstone on Full House from 1987 to 1995 — a role he reprised on Fuller House — has built a career that stretches well beyond that Tanner house in San Francisco. His voice work spans The Real Ghostbusters, Muppet Babies, Scooby-Doo, and American Dad, among others.

He closed out his video the way you’d expect from a guy who has spent decades making people laugh and feel good: “I wish good health to all of you, alright? And I hope I hear from you soon.”