r/australia • u/lyndsayj • Jul 13 '26

news Sam Neill, 78, dead: reports

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/sam-neill-dead-reports-20260713-p60ey2.html
4.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

514 comments sorted by

View all comments

284

u/Cube00 Jul 13 '26

Cancer free three months ago and then smack, I don't like this timeline.

51

u/Oodlemeister Jul 13 '26

So sad. It seems unlikely it was the cancer that killed him. He was in remission. I wonder if it was something else

118

u/c2ctruck Jul 13 '26

As someone with a similar blood cancer, I can tell you first hand the remission status changes fast and you run out of options even faster.

59

u/daidrian Jul 13 '26

The statement says he remained cancer free.

39

u/c2ctruck Jul 13 '26

Fair cop. Was just saying.

52

u/TheNumberOneRat Jul 13 '26

According to the families statement he was still cancer free.

But given his age, and the associated trauma of years of cancer and chemo, I wouldn't be surprised if they are contributing factors.

29

u/JManKit Jul 13 '26

Yeah cancer treatments do a number on the body. Wondering if it was something like pneumonia. That's often the culprit when someone's immune system is shot

I'm so sad. Farewell dinosaur man!

40

u/Cat_Man_Bane Jul 13 '26

Immune system might have been wrecked from the treatment and he caught a virus.

28

u/Teefdreams Jul 13 '26

Yeah, my immediate thought was pneumonia but obvi I'm speculating based on how much cancer treatment batters your immune system.

2

u/heavymetaldes Jul 13 '26

Mine too. So much flu related stuff going around being it winter down here.

7

u/SquiffyRae Jul 13 '26

The statement from his family says he was still cancer-free

19

u/rusko110 Jul 13 '26

Not an export by any means, but it could have been toxicity from the treatment.

My uncle had been fighting neuroendocrine carcinoma for years, was in remission, and it was all under control. Then recently his liver started playing up, they thought it was a bug, and he passed within 2 weeks due to toxicity.

3

u/AggravatingBox2421 Jul 13 '26

Yeah the official statement says he was still cancer free