Sam Neill reveals the note he prepared to write his children in case he had just months to live as Jurassic Park star reveals his heartbreaking stage-three blood cancer diagnosis

Sam Neill has revealed the emotional letter he wrote to his children as he battles stage three blood cancer.

The Jurassic Park star, 76, shared Australian story he began planning to write the letter to his son Tim, daughter Elena and grandchildren after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin blood cancer.

“I actually didn’t know how long I had to live,” the actor said.

“And I thought yeah, I should probably write something down for my kids and grandkids because I might not be here in a few months and it would be good for them to have an idea of ​​me and some of the things that I do. ‘have done.’

Neill also revealed that a new experimental drug is fighting his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma after chemotherapy failed.

Sam Neill has revealed the emotional letter he wrote to his children as he battles stage three blood cancer

‘I’m absolutely not afraid of dying. That doesn’t worry me. “I never worried about that from the beginning, but it would irritate me,” he added.

‘I would be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very annoying, dying. But I’m not afraid of it.’

Neill said he found out he had cancer on his first trip back to New Zealand last year, after the lockdown made it virtually impossible to return home to see his family for two years.

His son Tim told Australian Story his father had been back in New Zealand barely an hour when a doctor called with the terrible news.

“When he hung up the phone and we sat down, we cried together a little bit. It was supposed to be a happy day. He couldn’t stay,” Tim said.

The Jurassic Park star, 76, told Australian Story he planned to write the letter to his son Tim, daughter Elena and grandchildren after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin blood cancer.

Sam continued, “I was really fighting for my life. And everything was a new world and a rather alarming world.

“I had three or four months of fairly conventional chemo treatments, which are brutal.”

Tim went to visit his father while he was undergoing chemotherapy and was shocked to see how weak he was.

‘I was shocked, I broke down and I could barely hug him. He was just, you know, bones and skin. And then he gave me a hard time because I was angry about it and said I was stressing him out, but I said, ‘What are you talking about, Dad?'”

Just when they thought Neill’s health would improve, he got even worse news: the cancer was back and this time the disease was more serious.

“I thought yeah, I should probably write something down for my kids and grandkids because I might not be here for a few months and it would be good for them to get a feel for me and some of the things I do” did,” he said. Pictured with son Tim Neill

Neill was eventually given an experimental cancer drug, which thankfully started working.

He has now been in remission for 12 months, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for it to eventually stop working.

‘I know I have it, but I’m not really interested in it. It’s beyond my control. If you can’t control it, don’t start it,” he said of the disease.

Neill now receives an infusion every two weeks and will continue to do so for the rest of his life, or until the drug stops working.

Sam also revealed he has been in remission for 12 months thanks to a cancer drug, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for it to eventually stop working