Dolph Lundgren Credits Second Medical Opinion for Saving His Life After Kidney Cancer Diagnosis
The action star revealed that a misdiagnosis and delayed treatment for kidney cancer in 2015 led to tumors spreading, but a second opinion at UCLA ultimately led to his recovery.
Dolph Lundgren, 68, has shared the critical role a second medical opinion played in saving his life after a kidney cancer diagnosis in 2015. The actor, widely known for his villainous role as Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV," discovered a tumor that year, but his subsequent treatment proved ineffective.
Lundgren told Us Weekly that the initial diagnosis and treatment were flawed. "Getting a second opinion, that saved my life," he stated. "I was misdiagnosed [and] had I not sent all my charts and everything to [the] doctor at UCLA, I wouldn’t have been sitting here right now."
By the time he sought further medical advice, the cancer had spread to his lungs, spine, stomach, and liver. Lundgren described his reaction to the new information as a mix of disbelief and relief. "Disbelief first, and then we started the second treatment, the new treatment, [and] it was a relief that it started working quite quickly," he said.
Initially, Lundgren and his wife, Emma Krokdal, considered legal action against the medical professionals who provided the initial misdiagnosis. However, he ultimately decided against it, explaining that the mistake was not malicious. "I decided it [was] going to be a mess. Who needs it? I was still going through treatment, and then I realized that they weren’t doing it out of spite; they just had made a mistake. People make mistakes."
Lundgren, who married Krokdal, a personal trainer, in 2023, credited her with providing essential support during the most challenging periods of his illness. "She was there and helped me with the treatments, with my diet because I could only eat certain things. I had sores in my mouth and so forth. She was just fantastic. So without her, it would have been very, very difficult, I think, to pull through."
He confirmed that he has been cancer-free since November 2024 and continues to undergo scans every four to five months. "Obviously I’m aware of the fact that psychologically that something could come back. And look, it’s just part of life. I can’t change that," he added.
Lundgren's career breakthrough came in 1985 with his role as boxer Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV," followed by his first leading role as He-Man in "Masters of the Universe" in 1987.
His documentary, "Dolph: Unbreakable," is now available on digital platforms.