Recently, John Stamos went on social media to show his support for his former Full House co-star, Dave Coulier, during his cancer diagnosis.
In a set of three pictures posted on Instagram, Stamos wore a bald cap next to a freshly shaved Coulier.
“Nothing like putting on a bald cap and showing off some Photoshop skills to express love and support for my bro @dcoulier,” Stamos wrote in the post.
The images got over 500,000 likes but many people commented with concerns about whether it was appropriate.
“God bless Dave but is this really okay? A bald cap shows solidarity? You could just take your cap off and be ‘normal’ again. When people do this they usually shave their head. I can’t help but feel you’re using Dave’s diagnoses to make yourself look better,” one user said.
Another commenter called Stamos’ act “shallow,” criticizing him for wearing the bald cap and sharing the photos on Instagram “to get those likes.”
“Hate to say it but this is more insulting by putting on a bald cap than not shaving ur head,” another comment read.
John Librett, PhD, MPH, who survived cancer and founded Survivor Healthcare spoke with Newsner about the debate around Stamos’ gesture of support.
“An approach to treating cancer focuses on patient-centered care. This means responding to what matters most for the patient; it puts their needs at the center of all decisions regarding care,” Librett explained.
While many were upset by the General Hospital star’s bald cap choice, Librett noted that judging isn’t fair.
He shared how dealing with cancer is “very personal” and everyone copes differently.
“For example when I had cancer I was contacted by a clinic wanting me in their support group,” he remembered. “I went to one meeting which felt very depressing.”
The meeting had members sharing their “anger and frustration” about different parts of their cancer journey. While helpful for some there, Librett found little value in it himself.
“I wanted to explore my experience with compassion and curiosity,” he said. “When I had cancer I didn’t want to fight or battle it; instead I asked my cancer – what are you here to teach me? My experience taught me we need new language – moving from fighting against cancer towards seeing it as a crisis.”
Coulier announced his Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis only recently on November 13th defended his long-time friend through an Instagram post too.
“It’s our friendship (me & John) that helps us through tough times. I’m a comedian so humor drives me! John knows how to make me laugh — being such a loving friend,” he wrote
“I’ve heard from so many inspired by my words saying they will check in with doctors or get mammograms or colonoscopies.”
Despite negative feedbacks ,the actor vowed ”to laugh even when things are hard” while continuing his fight against caner while promoting early detection!
“That’s just who I am.”
