Michael Douglas has garnered numerous awards for his acting and director work. The actor has received international acclaim in the same manner as his father, Kirk Douglas. When the celebrity was diagnosed with a terminal illness, his entire life was turned upside down.

The BAFTA-winning actor started his career in the late 1960s and rose to fame with the film adaptation of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He also made headlines when he married Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Douglas, on the other hand, was battling what he thought was throat cancer, far from his frantic work schedule and glitzy Hollywood lifestyle.

Despite the severity of his situation, the star spoke candidly about his health problems and never anticipated dying.

“I know it seems crazy, but I never considered dying throughout the entire course of chemotherapy and radiation,” he added.

“My mum died when she was 92,” he commented.

Douglas told fellow actor Samuel L Jackson that his specialist advised him to issue a statement confirming his diagnosis of throat cancer, but that if surgery was required, his acting career might have ended.

The surgeon warned Douglas that he might lose some of his tongue and jaw.

Douglas granted an unexpected interview to the Guardian two years after his recovery in which he provided more details about his cancer battle, including the cause.

“HPV”, he told the newspaper, was the “cause” of tongue cancer because the sexually transmitted disease HPV (human papillomavirus) also causes cancer.

Despite his candor in the interview, the star felt forced to clarify his remarks following a public outpouring of wrath.

Douglas’ spokesperson told CNN that the actor did not entirely blame his cancer on HPV because he also smoked and drank. An official statement states:

“Michael Douglas never claimed that cunnilingus was the cause of his cancer.” Although experts in the narrative acknowledge that oral sex may contribute to some mouth cancers, he did not expressly claim that oral sex caused his illness.”

When a “walnut-sized tumor” near the base of Douglas’ tongue was discovered, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He then began an eight-week intense chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

“Wow, what a wild ride. That was exhausting,” he said.

“Plus, the chemotherapy I received destroyed all the wonderful stuff. It made me quite feeble.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only half of the patients diagnosed with oral cancer survive five years following their diagnosis. A delayed diagnosis is the most typical cause of this.

According to Cancer Research UK, detecting the warning signs and symptoms of tongue cancer is crucial since it can form on both the oral tongue, or the part that sticks out, and the base of the tongue.