Dolph Lundgren considered suicide during cancer battle

Dolph Lundgren has revealed he considered suicide following his cancer diagnosis.

In his new memoir, Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle, Lundgren has recalled battling dark thoughts during his lengthy treatment.

The Rocky IV actor was first diagnosed in 2015 after doctors found a cancerous tumour in his kidney.

In 2020, further tumours were discovered in his abdomen, liver, lungs and spine, with doctors giving the star a terminal prognosis of two to three years to live.

"When I was deep into the cancer treatments and thinking about the possibility of killing myself, my brother, Johan, was going to help me, because I didn't know what kind of condition I might be in once I made that decision," he wrote in one excerpt.

"I could be in really bad shape by then and not capable of completing the suicide on my own. There are countries in Europe, like Switzerland, that permit legal suicide for people who are terminally ill, but I still might have needed someone there to help me."

Lundgren discussed his fears with his brother Johan, but then changed his mind after meeting a new doctor.

"Johan and I talked about it, but once I met Dr. Drakaki and began feeling a little better, it never went any further than that," the 68-year-old star shared.

Dr Alexandra Drakaki is a UCLA Health oncologist and researcher who provided a second life-saving opinion in Lundgren's cancer battle.

Elsewhere in the memoir, Lundgren recalled his frustration after being handed a misdiagnosis during his cancer treatment.

"(One doctor) had me do another biopsy and then asked her pathologist to evaluate the results, and we also requested the slides from my initial biopsy for comparison," Lundgren explained.

"What she found was that my 'kidney cancer' cells had a mutation that is fairly common in lung cancer. That's why the medications I had been given for the past two years weren't working."

The Universal Soldier star began a new treatment, and in November 2024, revealed he was finally cancer-free.

In the new book, Lundgren sheds light on his childhood in Sweden as well as his transformation from a chemical engineering student to a martial arts champion and later a global movie star.

Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle is released today.