Dolph Lundgren Considered 'Legal Suicide' During Devastating Stage 4 Cancer Battle: 'I Had Almost Given Up Hope'

Action star Dolph Lundgren considered "legal suicide" after his stage four kidney cancer diagnosis.

The 68-year-old actor opened up about his decade-long health struggles in his new memoir, Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle, which was released on Tuesday, September 22.

"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," he confessed in the vulnerable book.

The Swedish actor confessed that he looked into countries abroad that allow assisted suicide for those with terminal illnesses such as cancer.

"I could be in really bad shape by then and not capable of completing the suicide on my own," the Rocky IV star noted. "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."

"It never went further than that," he said.

Lundgren was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. He found out his tumor had spread in 2020 and was told he only had a few months left to live.

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

Soon after he began considering the drastic measure, Lundgren met Dr. Alexandra Drakaki, whom he credited with properly reevaluating his condition and saving his life.

He met with Drakaki for the first time in 2022 and began to turn the corner in his treatment.

The physician tested some of Ludgren's old tissue and found a mutation that revealed why his treatment had not been effective.

"She had me do another biopsy and then asked her pathologist to evaluate the results, and we also requested the slides from my initial biopsy for comparison,” he wrote. “What she found was that my ‘kidney cancer’ cells had a mutation that is fairly common in lung cancer. That’s why the medications I had been given for the past two years weren’t working."

After learning he had been "misdiagnosed" and started treatment for lung cancer, Lundgren "began feeling better."

The star announced that he was cancer-free in 2024.

“Since there are no cancer cells in my body anymore, I guess I’ll be cancer-free, so I’m looking forward to this procedure,” he shared at the time, according to People.

"It’s been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life,” Lundgren continued. “I mean, it’s the only way to go."