‘Jurassic Park’ star Sam Niell reveals blood cancer diagnosis

PTI, Mar 18, 2023, 3:58 PM IST

Hollywood veteran Sam Niell has revealed that he is receiving treatment for stage-three blood cancer. The ”Jurassic Park” star has opened up about his diagnosis in his memoir ”Did I Ever Tell You This?, set to come out on Tuesday.

“The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up,” he writes in chapter one.

In an interview with The Guardian, Niell said he started writing about his life to keep himself busy as he underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a less common cancer that develops in the lymphatic system – the vast network of vessels and glands in the body.

“I found myself with nothing to do. 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?’ “I never had any intention to write a book. But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live and I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about that tomorrow … that will entertain me.’ And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know,” the 75-year-old actor said.

Neill shared he first experienced swollen glands during publicity for ”Jurassic World Dominion” in March last year. He was soon diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and received chemotherapy. When the traditional method failed, the actor said he was advised a new chemotherapy drug which he will have to receive monthly for the rest of his life. Niell is cancer free now. “I can’t pretend that last year hasn’t had its dark moments. But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive,” he said.