Sam Neill says he's cancer free.
"I've been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive," Neill told the outlet.
"Then the chemo stopped working," he continued. "I was at a loss, and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal obviously."
Sir Sam Neil attends the 2025 New Zealand Screen Awards.
Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty
He told the outlet that he was left with one option: CAR T-cell therapy, which is a personalized immunotherapy that genetically engineers a patient's T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, per the Cleveland Clinic.
It eventually worked for Neill, who told Australian Story in September 2023 that he had been using the treatment — which includes having infusions every two weeks, indefinitely — and had been in remission for at least 12 months at that point. Over a year later, his scans are still clear.
"I've just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that's an extraordinary thing," Neill told 7 News.
The Twelve actor first learned of his diagnosis after promoting Jurassic World Dominionin March 2022. In his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, he noted that he noticed lumps on his neck, which eventually led him to getting a blood test done, discovering the cancer.
"Within a few days I was lying on a hospital bed having all kinds of chemicals draining into my system, killing everything aboard," the actor wrote. "For therapeutic reasons. To be cured of a thing I didn't know I had just a few days ago. Yep, suddenly things are different — this is some serious s---."
Neill said his diagnosis made him realize "how immensely grateful" he is for his life, and made him want to share his own story.
Sam Neill visits SiriusXM studios on March 07, 2024 in New York City.
Credit: Jason Mendez/Getty
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"I started to think I better write some of this down because I'm not sure how long I have to live," he shared. "I was running against the clock."
However, after his scans came back clear month after month, he began to have hope again. He wrote in his memoir, "Now I'm a living man, with every intent of going on living and living and living."
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