Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill reveals rare blood cancer diagnosis but reassures fans he’s in remission

Actor Sam Neill has reassured fans that while he has a rare form of blood cancer he is not afraid of dying and is “very happy to be going back to work”.

Sam Neill has moved to reassure fans that he is in remission from his cancer and is starting work on a new film in Australia in a matter of days.

“My news seems to be all over the news at the moment, and it’s sort of ‘Cancer! Cancer! Cancer!’ which is slightly tiresome because as you see, I am alive and well and I have been in remission for eight months, which feels really good,” Neill said on Instagram on Saturday night.

Actor Sam Neill has been diagnosed with cancer.

“And I’m alive and kicking and I’m going to work. I’m very happy to be going back to work.

“We start filming in seven days time. I’m doing a thing called ‘Apples Never Fall’ with Annette Bening, and a really wonderful cast.

“So here I am, and I just wish the headline wasn’t ‘that thing’ so much, because the main thing is that I have written this book. It’s called ‘Did I Ever Tell You This?’.

“And it does mention cancer because that’s the sort of context in which I wrote it.

“But I didn’t really mean to write a book, I needed something to do while I was undergoing treatment, and I am used to going to work and I suddenly couldn’t go to work.

“So that’s why I wrote the book, and I have to say there’s been great response to it. “People seem to love it, which is great.

“I was very nervous, obviously, as a first time author.

“Anyway, I think it’s fun. We subtitled it ‘Movies, Life, Love and Other Catastrophes’.”

The much-loved star says he will need to take his chemotherapy drug for the rest of his life.

The 75-year-old screen legend said he was diagnosed with the stage-three blood cancer soon after noticing lumps on his neck while he was doing a press tour for Jurassic World Domination in March last year.

In fact, it was the shock diagnosis that gave him the courage to pen a memoir of his life in which he reveals he has the devastating disease.

The memoir, titled Did I Ever Tell You This, will be released later this month.

In an interview with The Guardian, the Northern Ireland-born, New Zealand-raised actor said he started penning vignettes of his life as we was undergoing treatment.

While the exercise kept him busy during the treatment period, the end result was a book cataloguing the actor’s life.

The star, who plays Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park film franchise, dives straight into the shock diagnosis in the first chapter with the blunt revelation: “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying.”

Laura Dern as Dr Ellie Sattler and Sam Neill as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic World Dominion.

Neill told The Guardian he went from thinking he simply had swollen glands to battling angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and remarked: “I’m not afraid to die, but it would annoy me.”

He underwent chemotherapy, but with the treatment failing to make an impact on the cancer, he embarked on a new chemotherapy drug which worked, sending the cancer into remission.

While he is now cancer-free, he says he will need to take the chemotherapy drug for the rest of his life.

Neill’s screen career began in the 1970s and among the 150-plus roles he has played are notable films My Brilliant Career, The Piano and the 1989 thriller Dead Calm with a young Nicole Kidman alongside Hollywood star Billy Zane.

Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman in Dead Calm, the film that put Kidman on Hollywood’s radar. Picture: Supplied

Neill has already filmed four films which are now in post-production including The Portable Door starring Christophe Waltz and filmed in Queensland for Stan.

His next venture will be the television adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s best-selling novel Apples Never Fall with Annette Bening, also filming in Australia.

EXPLAINED: SAM NEILL’S RARE BLOOD CANCER

Sam Neill’s revelation that he was treated for stage-three blood cancer has shocked the respected actor’s fans as well as the entertainment world. Here’s what we know about the illness.

WHAT IS NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a less common cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is the vast network of vessels and glands in the body.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

One of the most common symptoms is enlargement of one or more lymph nodes. Other signs include abdominal pain or swelling, chest pain, fatigue, fever, nIght sweats and unexplained weight loss.

HOW SERIOUS IS NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a serious condition but commonly has a relatively promising outlook.

Most people survive at least five years after a diagnosis, but older people are more likely to die from the condition.

Other factors that affect the outlook include the stage and spread of the cancer.

Sam Neill, pictured at the 67th San Sebastian Film Festival, has revealed his cancer diagnosis in his new memoir. Picture: AFP

CAN A BLOOD TEST DETECT NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

Blood tests can help your doctors detect the presence of some of the telltale signs of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO GET NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA?

The disease occurs more frequently in men and approximately 70 per cent of people diagnosed are aged 50 and over.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

Exposure to radiation and certain types of chemicals can put some people at higher risk.