Sam Neill is being treated for stage three blood cancer.
The 75-year-old actor has discussed his diagnosis in his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? and revealed he feared he might die before the book was even published.
He writes, “The thing is, I’m a crook. I may die. I may have to speed this up.”
Sam initially began writing the book to occupy himself.
The Hollywood star told the Guardian newspaper: “I had nothing to do. And I’m used to working. i love to work I love going to work these things. And suddenly I was deprived of it. And I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’
“I never intended to write a book. But as I kept writing and writing more, I realized that it actually gave me a reason to live, and I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’m going to write about this tomorrow… this will entertain me.’ And so it was really a lifesaver because I couldn’t have gotten through this without doing something, you know.”
Sam is now cancer-free – but he will continue to take a new chemotherapy drug for the rest of his life.
The actor who played Dr. Alan Grant, who starred in the Jurassic Park franchise, insists he’s “just glad to be alive.”
He said: “I can’t pretend the last year hasn’t had its dark moments.
“But those dark moments shed the light in sharp relief, you know, and made me immensely grateful for each day and for all my friends. Just glad to be alive.”
