Celebrity3 min(s) read
Michael Douglas reveals how much weight he lost after being diagnosed with cancer linked to oral sex
In his new book, Hollywood A-lister Michael Douglas opened up about his “traumatizing” battle with cancer, revealing how he developed it and the devastating impact it had on his body.
Three years after his cancer diagnosis in 2010, actor Michael Douglas publicly revealed that the cause of it was oral sex. He has since spent the last decade talking openly and campaigning about the signs and symptoms of HPV.
Douglas was diagnosed with cancer after finding a huge tumor
The Kominsky Method star was shocked when doctors investigating his persistent sore throat discovered a “walnut-sized tumor” at the base of his tongue.
Describing a doctor’s appointment, Douglas, 82, said, “I will always remember the look on my friend’s face.
“He said, ‘We need a biopsy.’ There was a walnut-sized tumor at the base of my tongue that no other doctor had seen.”
The actor was quickly diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma.
Just a few years after his diagnosis, Douglas sparked conversation when he revealed in an interview with The Guardian that his cancer was directly linked to oral sex.
He claimed that he contracted HPV through cunnilingus, telling the newspaper: “Yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it."
The actor later denied making the comment, though the publication stood by its report and released the audio.
In his new book, One Helluva Ride, the star speaks candidly about the impact the cancer had on his body, as well as how the diagnosis affected his then-young family.
Treatment caused Douglas to lose a scary amount of weight
The dad-of-three wrote very honestly about how much weight he lost while going through treatment, confessing he dropped around 40 pounds “that I didn’t really have to lose”.
Almost immediately after the devastating diagnosis, Douglas underwent seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, which he described in his book as “the seven circles of hell”.
He wrote: "At first, the pain was bad but manageable, but by the third week I was in real trouble."
Thankfully, after months of aggressive radiation and chemotherapy, he is now cancer-free.
Addressing the “hard moments” for his wife, fellow actor Catherine Zeta-Jones, and their children, Douglas penned: "The kids were too young to understand how these magazines operate, so it was traumatizing for them.
"The couch had become my chair, my desk, my table, my bed, my life raft on a sea of complete exhaustion."
In one tear-jerking snippet, the 82-year-old said: "To say cancer humbled me would be an understatement. It made me more thankful for everything in my life.
"It’s difficult to talk about, but it felt like a rebirth. My priorities changed. Cancer showed me what family is. It made me feel a love that I never knew really existed.
Heartwarmingly, he added: "I saw everything a little bit clearer, and a little bit brighter, and became far more conscious of how I spent my time."