The Castle star’s doctors have recommended quarterly infusion therapy.
Susan Sullivan is doing well two years after she revealed her cancer diagnosis.
The actress, who played Maggie Channing on Falcon Crest for nine seasons, gave a promising update on her health in a new interview with PEOPLE, saying her lung cancer is in remission and her lymphoma is now “muted,” though not completely gone.
Sullivan, 82, detailed her experience undergoing chemotherapy for the lymphoma, which is a type of blood cancer.
“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,” the Castle actress recalled. “I wasn’t quite the adventurous, smiling, positive creature. I was more, ‘F—, no, I’m not going back.'”
All things considered, though, Sullivan thinks she’s had a relatively positive experience during treatment. “When you’re going through this kind of therapy or chemotherapy, people have different reactions to it,” she said. “It wasn’t so terrible for me, but it affects your heart. It affects your whole system. So then you really have to take care of yourself, period. That’s where I am. I’m basically sort of on hold, but I feel good and all through this.”
Sullivan, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023 and announced her lymphoma diagnosis this past January, also offered her number-one strategy for staying healthy.
“If I could give older people, people aging, any advice: Work out,” she said. “I work out twice a week. I do resistance training, and I worked out all through the pandemic. I worked out after the lung cancer surgery. I did what I could do, and it was always modified, but it is so essential to stay strong, particularly while you’re aging, because you’re sort of trying to keep up.”
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The Dharma & Greg and The Incredible Hulk actress also said her doctors want her to have infusion therapy every quarter, but she feels somewhat resistant to that plan.
“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,” Sullivan said. “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.”
The actress maintains a hopeful attitude amid her health struggles. “I’ve had a really, really fortunate time on this planet so far,” she said, “and I want it to continue.”
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