Jurassic Park star Sam Neill is suffering from rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Jurassic Park legend Sam Neill has been diagnosed with stage three blood cancer and is ‘possibly dying’.

The actor revealed that he suffers from stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his memoir, which will be made public later this month.

Lumps on his neck that he noticed during a press trip last year were the first symptom he felt of the disease. He soon learned that he was suffering from a devastating illness. Things are looking good though as he is now in remission.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma begins in the white blood cells and usually appears first in the lymph in the neck. Neill was diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), which kills about 50 percent of patients within five years.

Neill revealed his diagnosis in his new memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This,” due out later this month. He said the diagnosis inspired him to write the book that catalogs his life.

Pictured above are the four major stages of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Jurassic Park star has a rare form of this cancer called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma

His disease, AITL, is a rare and often fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

It accounts for about one to two percent of the 80,000 non-Hogkin lymphoma cases in America diagnosed each year. This means there are fewer than 2,000 cases each year.

In the UK, only 140 people are diagnosed each year.

It was also revealed that he had stage three, meaning the lymphoma has now spread to both sides of the diaphragm.

Experts at Cancer Research UK previously said stage three suggests the cancer is now in the lymph nodes in the neck and spleen, a small organ next to the liver.

It has not progressed to stage four, where the cancer has spread to the liver and caused damage.

Experts warn that the prognosis for lymphoma patients is generally poor, with only about half of patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis.

In his case, Neill says he received chemotherapy to fight the cancer. It is now in remission.

Nevertheless, he is expected to need chemotherapy for the rest of his life.

Warning signs of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for Neill included having lumpy glands — swollen lymph nodes — in his neck.

Other symptoms include fever, night sweats, skin rashes, and autoimmune conditions such as anemia caused by the body attacking its own white blood cells.

Normally, a type of white blood cell called T cells remains in the lymph, which includes the bone marrow, spleen, and tonsils.

But in AITL, these cells begin to divide uncontrollably, causing the nodes to swell and other hallmarks of the disease to develop.

Doctors say it is usually diagnosed only in the later stages.

Reflecting on life, the seasoned actor admitted: “I’m not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I would really like another decade or two, you know?

“We’ve built all these beautiful terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be there to see it all grow up. And I have my sweet little grandchildren. I want to see them grow up.

‘But as for the dying? I could not care less.’

He also said that after the diagnosis he decided to write a book.

“I thought I had 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 more and more fascinating.

“A year later, not only did I write the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter – but it came out in record time,” he said proudly.