Michael Douglas Diagnosed with Throat Cancer
Douglas insists he's "optimistic."
Not only is his son in jail on drug charges, but actor Michael Douglas has another battle in his personal life underway. Word got out Tuesday that Douglas, an Academy Award-winning actor and father of three, has cancer of the throat, which is being treated with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation.
Michael Douglas is a longtime notorious smoker and drinker who has played tough characters (often also smokers) since he first appeared on the big screen in the 1970s. A cancer expert has weighed in to reveal that it's clear Douglas' bad habits have caught up with the 65-year-old actor. From ABCNews.com: "'That combination is, unfortunately, a recipe for development of a throat cancer,' Dr. Kenneth Hu, co-director of the Head and Neck Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, told 'Good Morning America' today." Hu said, however, that it appears Douglas' illness is not advanced, but probably in an intermediate stage: "I think the fact that he's getting radiation means it's curable." It's reported Douglas will undergo eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
READ: Michael Douglas Says Son's Prison Sentence Is "Adequate" To Save Him (VIDEO)
Meanwhile Michael Douglas has released a very brief statement though his spokesperson about his cancer, saying only, "I am very optimistic." Douglas has a 31-year-old son, Cameron, who's currently in jail for dealing drugs. He also has a 10-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter with his wife of nearly a decade, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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Experts suggest that Michael Douglas will absolutely need to quit smoking in order to increase his chances of successful cancer treatment. ABCNews.com reports: "The two months of treatment ... will likely preserve Douglas' voice box though he may be noticeably more hoarse by the end. More aggressive treatment, he said, such as surgery, carries a much more significant risk of permanently damaging the voice."
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