Michael Douglas has never been one to shy away from frank revelations, but his explanation for the cause of his stage four throat cancer was pretty surprising.
The Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction star, now 80, has a long history of speaking openly about his past, including substance abuse, smoking, drinking, and a reputation — disputed by him — for being “sex-obsessed.”
In 1992, Douglas checked into rehab for alcohol addiction in Arizona’s Catalina Mountains, though some reports at the time claimed he was also being treated for sex addiction.
He denied that allegation, but nearly two decades later, he made a claim that reignited that image.
In 2013, Douglas told The Guardian that his throat cancer was caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which, he said, can be contracted through performing oral sex.
Asked whether years of smoking, drinking, and drug use might have been responsible for his illness, he replied: “No. No. Ah, without getting too specific, this particular cancer is caused by something called HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus.”
He went further, adding: “I did worry if the stress caused by my son's incarceration didn't help trigger it. But yeah, it’s a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it.”
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., according to the Cleveland Clinic, and is best known for its link to cervical cancer.
Research has shown the virus can also cause cancers of the throat, particularly in the oropharyngeal region.
Studies cited by London consultant head and neck surgeon Mahesh Kumar show that HPV type 16 is present in 57% of oral cancer cases, and the last decade has seen a dramatic rise in such cancers, especially in younger patients.
“It has been established beyond reasonable doubt that the HPV type 16 is the causative agent in oropharyngeal cancer,” Kumar said, noting higher recovery rates for HPV-related cancers.
Even so, Kumar expressed scepticism that HPV alone caused Douglas’s illness and flatly rejected the suggestion that more oral sex could cure it.
“Maybe he thinks that more exposure to the virus will boost his immune system. But medically, that just doesn’t make sense.”
Douglas’s road to diagnosis began in August 2010, after months of oral discomfort.
Despite seeing several specialists, his tumor went unnoticed until he visited a friend’s doctor in Montreal. “I will always remember the look on his face,” Douglas recalled. “He said: ‘We need a biopsy.’ There was a walnut-size tumor at the base of my tongue that no other doctor had seen.”
The diagnosis was stage four throat cancer — a level often considered terminal.
Douglas began an aggressive eight-week course of chemotherapy and radiation, refusing a feeding tube even as the treatment burned his palate and left him on a liquids-only diet.
“That’s a rough ride. That can really take it out of you,” he said. “Plus the amount of chemo I was getting, it zaps all the good stuff too. It made me very weak.” He lost around 20kg (45 pounds) during treatment.
Remarkably, the treatment worked.
Two years later, Douglas was given the all-clear and has remained in remission. He now attends check-ups every six months and says that, with his type of cancer, “95% of the time it doesn’t come back.”
Douglas, who has two children with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and an older son, Cameron, from his first marriage, acknowledged the role stress may have played in his illness.
At the time of his diagnosis, Cameron was serving a prison sentence for drug-related offenses, later extended after being caught with drugs while incarcerated.