Actor Val Kilmer, 63, reflects on his 1993 film “Tombstone” in a nostalgic Instagram post. The movie was released 30 years ago, roughly a decade before he was diagnosed with cancer.
Kilmer battled throat cancer in 2014, and his tough recovery impacted his speaking voice, which also impacted his ability to perform as an actor. He turned to creating abstract art pieces to help him communicate and cope during his cancer journey.
Kilmer’s treatment included chemotherapy and a tracheotomy procedure.
Signs of throat cancer may include a sore throat, pain with swallowing, difficulty swallowing, and the sensation of a lump or mass in the throat.
Actor Val Kilmer, 63, revs up the nostalgia on the 30th anniversary of his 1993 feature film “Tombstone,” which put a spin on western classics. Kilmer shared a behind-the-scenes video clip in an Instagram post. The younger Kilmer showed his castmates and production crew, adding that there was “a lot of love” among them during the making of the film.
“Tombstone opened in theaters 30 years ago today, and it seems like yesterday!” Kilmer said in an Instagram caption.
The film landed Kilmer an MTV Movie Award nomination in 1994 for “Best Male Performance” and “Most Desirable Male.” The plot focused on Kurt Russell, portraying “Wyatt Earp” meeting his old friend “Doc Holliday,” played by Val Kilmer, in Tombstone, Arizona. The plot evolves into a good versus evil confrontation in the old West as a band of outlaws known to cause random acts of violence face off with Kilmer and Russell in an old-fashioned shoot-out.
The film is among many Kilmer would be featured in throughout his four decades-long television and film career, which includes “Top Gun,” “Knight Rider,” and “True Romance.”
During the latter half of Kilmer’s career, he was dealt a setback he managed to overcome in the form of a throat cancer diagnosis in 2014.
During an interview with The New York Times, Kilmer did not immediately see his doctor for symptoms associated with his throat cancer.
Actor Val Kilmer poses for a portrait in circa 1984. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
He told the outlet he felt a “big lump in his throat” in 2014. After waking up in a “pool of his own blood,” he was convinced to see his doctor, who confirmed his cancer diagnosis.
Throat cancer is cancer that develops in your throat or voice box.
“[Throat] cancer can cause symptoms in the throat including sore throat, pain with swallowing, difficulty swallowing, the sensation of a lump or mass in the throat, ear pain, and less commonly voice changes, hoarseness or difficulty opening the jaw,” Dr. Ryan Hughes, a radiation oncologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, told SurvivorNet.
“In the majority of patients, [throat cancer] does not cause symptoms in the throat but instead first presents with an otherwise asymptomatic mass in the neck,” Dr. Hughes added.
“Because of the radiation and chemotherapy interventions, my voice and throat were severely damaged. It isn’t easy to talk and be understood,” Kilmer said.
The famous actor underwent chemotherapy to help treat the cancer. He also underwent a tracheotomy procedure, which had an impact on his ability to speak. This procedure connects the windpipe to a hole in the front of your neck.
American actors Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Interestingly, the actor continued working on production projects using artificial intelligence technology despite the tracheotomy’s impact on his voice. The technology was created by Sonantic, which used samples of Kilmer speaking to recreate his speech patterns.
Since undergoing treatment for throat cancer, Kilmer has said he’s “healed of cancer” in his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”
He also added since battling cancer, “I’m so grateful.”
Life After Cancer
It’s been nearly a decade since Kilmer began his cancer journey. With it behind him, he’s continued to find success and happiness. He relied on art to help him cope while undergoing cancer treatment. He continues producing watercolor paintings that send positive messages.
SurvivorNet has shared many hopeful stories of cancer survivors and how their lives evolved afterward.
WATCH: Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Survivor Share her Stoy of Life After Cancer
After CC Webster was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 29, she was struck by the overwhelming anxiety she started to feel. “In life after cancer, I experienced an entirely new level of anxiety that I didn’t know existed,” CC says. “Earth-shattering anxiety that makes you sweat and makes your heart race. I had to learn how to manage myself in that and how to allow myself to process the trauma that I had just been through.”
