Stanley Tucci's Cancer Battle
- Actor Stanley Tucci, 60, has shared for the very first time that he battled cancer three years ago when a tumor was found on his tongue. He went through chemotherapy and radiation for treatment.
- Tucci’s first wife, Kate Spath-Tucci, passed away from breast cancer in 2009 when she was just 47-years-old.
- For many people, a cancer battle is an extremely personal moment that they don’t feel comfortable sharing with others. This is why some people, especially celebrities, choose to keep their cancer battle private.
In an intimate interview, Tucci recalls when he was diagnosed with a tumor on the base of his tongue, and had to go through chemotherapy and radiation since it was too large to operate on. The treatment was successful, and so far Tucci has not faced a recurrence. However, the actor had to adapt to serious changes over the next few months after treatment, which included six months of a feeding tube and feeling extremely weak and fatigued. Understandably, the whole experience was difficult for both Tucci and his family.
Read More“I'd vowed I'd never do anything like that because my first wife died of cancer, and having to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible,” Tucci said. “[Cancer] makes you more afraid and less afraid at the same time.”
Despite keeping his cancer battle out of the public eye, Tucci is speaking up now and is determined to keep living his life to the fullest.
“I feel much older than I did before I was sick," he said. "But you still want to get ahead and get things done.”
Why People Keep a Cancer Battle Private
Tucci isn’t the only celebrity to keep their brush with cancer out of the public eye, and instead go through treatment privately. A cancer diagnosis can cause a whirlwind of emotions, and can be an extremely difficult concept to cope with. For many people, their extremely personal moment is something they don’t feel comfortable sharing with others, which is understandable. Ultimately, it’s entirely up to you to decide whether you want to share your cancer experience with others, and there’s no wrong answer.
While keeping a cancer battle private, especially if you’re a celebrity, is understandable, it’s still important to deal with the emotions you may experience as a result of the diagnosis and treatment process. A helpful resource for coping is leaning on a support system of tight knit family or friends, or reaching out to a therapist. Ultimately, it’s important to work through emotions such as grief and anger in order to move on.
“In cancer care, sometimes, we’re actually forcing some body changes that are beyond what would be normal aging, and that can be even harder for people to deal with where they don’t feel like themselves,” Dr. Scott Irwin, director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, previously told SurvivorNet. “People that are struggling with coping with the experience should reach out to their doctors and find a therapist in the community. It’s about meeting the individual patient where they are and their feelings, how they’ve always dealt with their body image, what the body image changes mean now in their lives and their relationships, and how they can move forward given the new reality.”
Dealing With Grief After a Cancer Diagnosis
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