‘Castle’ Star Susan Sullivan Offers Update on Her Two Cancer Battles

Susan Sullivan has offered a health update after getting diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago and revealing this January she was also fighting lymphoma.

In a new interview with People, the Castle actor said that her lung cancer is in remission and that her lymphoma is “muted.”

The health saga started with a routine mammogram in August 2023, when Sullivan’s radiologist noticed a swollen lymph node under her arm and recommended a biopsy. That September, Sullivan was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer — which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is the most common type of lung cancer and grows slower than small cell lung cancer. Sullivan underwent surgery that October and was cancer-free months later.

But this January, the Falcon Crest alum revealed on X she’d been diagnosed with lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system, the Mayo Clinic explains.

What I struggle with health wise, lung cancer and now lymphoma has deepened my compassion for others. #life pic.twitter.com/r0djLpXO7n

— Susan Sullivan (@realssullivan) January 20, 2025

“What I struggle with health-wise, lung cancer and now lymphoma, has deepened my compassion for others,” Sullivan wrote in her X post, captioning a photo of herself cradling her head in her hand as she received treatment.

“At first it was all right, but then when it started to be painful, to have that chemo was like burning hot liquid, going into your veins, and then your veins collapse and they can’t find a vein. I wasn’t quite the adventurous, smiling, positive creature,” she revealed. “I was more, ‘F***, no, I’m not going back.’”

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Sullivan’s most recent PET scan showed the lymphoma was still present but “muted,” she said. Her doctors advised her to get infusion therapy every quarter, but she wanted to try a different tack.

“I have a tendency to be in the soft blanket of denial, and I said, I would rather see how my body does on its own and do a PET scan in November as opposed to an infusion in August, so that’s where I am,” she told People. “There are people who say, ‘Oh, just do the maintenance. Do it. Do it.’ And I think maybe I should see what my body wants to do. I don’t want to sit there for five hours with a needle in my arm if I don’t absolutely have to.”

Now 82, Sullivan is looking to the future. “I’ve had a really, really fortunate time on this planet so far, and I want it to continue,” she said. “And when you turn 80, longing is not over. … What I really would like people to think about in their 80s is, the game is still on, and you’re old, but you’re still restless.”

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