Relationships & Cancer
- Cancer survivor Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are celebrating 21 years of marriage.
- In 2010, Douglas announced that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and after treatments, he was declared cancer-free early the next year. It was later revealed he actually had tongue cancer.
- Actress and melanoma survivor Jill Kargman says the disease "is a great way to find out if you're with the love of your life or a shithead."
Douglas posted a roughly two-minute video clip to the tune of American Authors song Best Day of My Life on Instagram today, commemorating more than two decades with the love of his life.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
Michael Douglas' Oral Cancer Battle
In 2010, Douglas announced that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and after aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, he was declared cancer-free early the next year.
Then, during a 2013 interview with fellow actor Samuel L. Jackson, Douglas revealed that he had actually been diagnosed with tongue cancer.
"This was right before I had a big tour for Wall Street, so we said, 'There's no way we can cancel the tour and say we don't feel well,'" Michael Douglas says while explaining the motivation to lie about his diagnosis. "I said, 'You've just got to come out and just tell them I've got cancer and that's it.'"
Douglas revealed that's when his surgeon said: "Let's just say it's throat cancer."
The major concern, Douglas says, was that, given the size of the tumor and advanced stage of the disease, it seemed likely that he would need surgery to remove parts of his jaw and tongue.
Fearing this would result in countless questions about his prognosis and misleading reports about possible disfigurement as he promoted his new film, it was decided that the truth would stay hidden for some time.
Douglas complained of symptoms for nearly a year before being diagnosed with cancer. He said that specialists in the United States kept insisting he was simply dealing with an infection at the time.
Then, while spending time at his summer home in Quebec's Mont-Tremblant, Douglas visited a teaching hospital where a doctor located the lump at the back of his throat. Soon after, a biopsy revealed the actor had stage 4 tongue cancer.
HPV and Cancer Risk: The Basics
According to the American Cancer Society, about 54,000 new cases of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer will be diagnosed in 2021. Oropharyngeal cancer is a type of head and neck or throat cancer that's most commonly associated with the human papillomavirus, or HPV. This type of cancer is far more common in men, like Michael Douglas, than in women, and the incidence has been increasing over time.
Douglas initially said that his cancer was caused by engaging in oral sex, which could have led him to contract HPV, which is a sexually transmitted disease. Douglas later said that years of alcohol abuse and heavy smoking were likely to blame for his cancer, along with stress.
Relationships & Cancer: When the One You Love is Sick
It was about a decade into his marriage with Zeta-Jones when Douglas was diagnosed with cancer, an experience that surely took an emotional toll on both of them, and their relationship.
Jill Kargman on Relationships and Cancer
This is something actress and melanoma survivor Jill Kargman can attest to as cancer was a true test of her relationship's strength. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Kargman says the disease "is a great way to find out if you're with the love of your life or a shithead."
"I think it presses the fast-forward button on getting to the bottom of that answer, because a lot of people in middle age are kind of at a crossroads, waiting for their kids to fly the coop," Kargman says. "I think if you're with someone who is not supportive and kind of emotionally checked out or doesn't tell you you're still beautiful with that, this might not be your person."
Contributing: Chris Spargo
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
