Dolph Lundgren, the Swedish actor, has revealed that he considered “legal suicide” during his cancer battle after depression left him with little hope of recovery.

The 68-year-old actor disclosed in his new memoir, Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle.

Lundgren said he discussed ending his life with his brother, Johan, while undergoing cancer treatment. He feared he might become too ill to carry out the decision himself.

“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,” Lundgren wrote.

“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’s cancer diagnosis

Lundgren said the discussion with his brother never went “further than that” after he met doctor Alexandra Drakaki.

“At this point, I was depressed and had almost given up all hope,” he wrote.

Doctors had diagnosed Lundgren with kidney cancer in 2015. Tumours later spread in 2020, and doctors told him he likely had only a few years to live.

However, Drakaki reviewed his samples in early 2022 and ordered new tests. She discovered that Lundgren was “misdiagnosed” and had lung cancer instead.

Lundgren said he “began feeling better” after following Drakaki’s treatment plan. He revealed in 2024 that he was cancer-free.

Actor reflects on cancer experience.

Lundgren has also spoken about the emotional impact of surviving cancer.

“I do what they call survivorship therapy, because you go through cancer survivorship, and you get PTSD, a little bit like a soldier coming back from war, because you faced your own mortality,” Lundgren told Entertainment Weekly.

“In therapy, they said, ‘The one rule of life is that we all know we’re gonna die.’

“But most people don’t think about it. You can get hit by a bus any day, but they told me, ‘Well, once you’ve had cancer, you’ve seen the bus. You saw the colour of the bus, and you saw the number of it.’

“I hope I can inspire people who have their own problems, not just cancer, to be positive and keep fighting.”

Please follow and like us: