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Dolph Lundgren shot to fame as the 6\u20195\u2019\u2019 former karate champion who took Rocky Balboa to the limit in Russia and saved the fate of Planet Eternia in <\/span>Masters of The Universe.<\/span><\/i> But having survived his most difficult battle against cancer, Lundgren\u2019s new autobiography was written so that we might be inspired to take the \u201cFights Worth Fighting\u201d when it comes to prioritizing our own health.<\/span><\/p>\n It may surprise some people to learn that Dolph Lundgren is no stereotypical action star. The Swedish born ice hockey standout and formidable martial artist earned a master\u2019s degree in chemical engineering, becoming a Fulbright scholar before entering the world of Hollywood. While Lundgren\u2019s cinematic breakthrough came in 1985\u2019s <\/a><\/span>Rocky IV, playing<\/span><\/i> Soviet boxer Ivan Drago opposite Sylvester Stallone, the actor was also cast as He-Man in 1987\u2019s cult favorite Masters of the Universe<\/em> movie, and starred alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in the \u201cUniversal Solder\u201d franchise, premiering in 1992, and then returning for sequels in 2009 and 2012. With more than a hundred credits on IMDB<\/a><\/span>, Lundgren has remained one of the busiest actors of the last 30 years, but a shock cancer discovery, a decade ago, would force the action hero to take real life into his hands.<\/span><\/p>\n Now embarking on a book tour, and with a new documentary on the way, it\u2019s been an emotional time for Lundgren as he\u2019s been forced to reflect on his life-threatening struggle. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit like doing therapy,\u201d the star tells M&F. \u201cYou\u2019re going back and re-examining your life. It was good for me, because it was a way for me to appreciate the young man who set out from Sweden on some sort of adventure, pay my respects to him to some degree, and internally, just kind of feel good about myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle<\/em> is a highly personal tale for Lundgren, he also felt the need to empower others into backing themselves. \u201cIt\u2019s for other people who have their own fights, medically or going through hardships in life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After noticing blood in his urine after a training session in 2015, subsequent tests revealed that Lundgren had a cancerous tumor in his kidney. This was removed by surgery, and Lundgren was told that he\u2019d need regular testing to make sure that the cancer didn\u2019t spread, but those worst fears were realized in 2020, when several more tumors were found in close proximity to the original. While these were also removed, a malignant tumor would later be found in his liver, and due to its significant size, this particular tumor could not be operated on. Instead, Lundgren received an infusion of drugs every three weeks, but cancer nodes continued to grow in his kidney. As if that wasn\u2019t all\u00a0 serious enough, the actor had to deal with blood clots as a side effect of medication. In fact, with cancer continuing to spread, Lundgren was encouraged to spend as much time as possible with his family, with one doctor signaling that his time on Earth was nearing its end.<\/span><\/p>\n Rather than give up, however, Lundgren continued to work as much as possible, throwing himself into his movie work, and taking an active approach to his very real fight against cancer. The star\u2019s seeking of an alternative opinion led him to provide tissue samples at UCLA Health, and it was here that Dr. Alexandra Drakaki discovered a mutation associated with lung cancer. This breakthrough meant that a more effective treatment could be designed for Lundgren\u2019s specific situation and incredibly, this led to his tumors being shrunk by around 90%, allowing the remaining cancerous tissues to be removed via ablation, where tumors are destroyed via heat, cold, or lasers.<\/span><\/p>\nHow Did Dolph Lundgren Beat His Secret Cancer Battle?<\/h2>\n