Sam Neill has insisted that he is not afraid dying, as he battles stage-three blood cancer.
The Jurassic Park star however told Australian Story that he will be ‘annoyed’ if he dies soon, as his recent round of chemotherapy failed to work.
‘I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed’ the 76-year-old said.
‘I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of it.’
Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to anti-cancer drug, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for the fact that it will eventually stop working.
Sam Neill (pictured) has insisted that he is not afraid dying, as he battles stage-three blood cancer
‘I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it. It’s out of my control. If you can’t control it, don’t get into it’ he said of the disease.
Sam first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is ‘possibly dying.’
In an interview with The Guardian, the actor said: ‘The thing is, I’m crook. I may have to speed this up. I found myself with nothing to do.
‘And I’m used to working. I love working. I love going to work. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all these things. And suddenly I was deprived of that. And I thought, ‘What am I going to do?”
The Jurassic Park star however told Australian Story that he will be ‘annoyed’ if he dies soon, as his recent round of chemotherapy failed to work
‘I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed’ the 76-year-old said
Neill also told the BBC that he has had ‘a ferocious type of aggressive’ non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
He began writing his memoir as a distraction and to ‘give me a reason to get through the day.’
The book looks back on the New Zealand actor’s 50-year career on screen, as well as his sudden illness.
Neill revealed that he sought medical treatment after noticing that he had lumpy glands on his neck while doing a publicity tour last year for the film Jurassic World Dominion.
The Piano star stayed calm when doctors told him of his diagnosis, and he immediately began plotting to write a book of his life.
‘I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of it’ he added
Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to anti-cancer drug, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for the fact that it will eventually stop working
‘I thought I need to do something, and I thought, ‘Shall I start writing?’ he told the BBC.
‘I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories. And I found it increasingly engrossing.
‘A year later, not only have I written the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter – but it’s come out in record time,’ he said proudly.
And about the literary effort he also said he ‘never had any intention to write a book.’
Sam explained, ‘But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live and I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about that tomorrow… that will entertain me.’
‘And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.’
Sam first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is ‘possibly dying’
Sam’s specific ailment was diagnosed as angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
He is now in remission but will be on medication for the rest of his life.
According to Lymphoma.org AITL is ‘a rare, often but not always, aggressive form of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).’
Statistically, this specific type of blood cancer makes up just one to two percent of all NHL cases in the United States.
The site also notes that elderly patients are more likely to be diagnosed with it.
Symptoms can include having high fever, night sweats, skin rash, and autoimmune disorders.
Sam, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards are pictured in 1993’s original Jurassic Park
Reflecting on life, the seasoned actor admitted, ‘I’m not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know?
‘We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.
‘But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.’
The star was married to Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989-2017 and they share two kids – Elena, 32, and Tim, 40.
Sam’s most notable role is Dr. Alan Grant, who he portrayed in the Jurassic World franchise most recently in last year’s third installment.
Sam and costar Laura Dern aree pictured in a still from Jurassic Park: Dominion
