Top Gun’s Val Kilmer might have had to take a break from Hollywood amid his battle with throat cancer, but as he’s heading back to the big screen, he clearly doesn’t want to stop anytime soon. After overcoming a struggle such as cancer, appreciating life and planning for the future is certainly not uncommon.
The actor underwent a tracheotomy as a part of his throat cancer treatment, which impaired his voice significantly, but he isn’t letting that get in the way of his love of acting. In fact, his positivity is completely shining through.
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Doing What You Love After Cancer Treatment
Battling cancer can take a lot out of a person, but survivors have said the struggle made them appreciate life even more after successfully completing treatment.
Voice actor Kat Cressida overcame a rare type of cancer called Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP), a soft tissue sarcoma that develops in the deep layers of the skin. The disease is typically fatal, and Cressida is thankful she was able to beat it. However, she says she developed a “hidden disability” after being diagnosed.
Related: Do What You Love Even if Cancer Gets in the Way of Your Dreams
"The hidden disabilities that one can face coming through cancer or any serious illness that takes you out of your current timeline, and throws you into some other place where your only motive of living is survival, can be anything from circumstantial depression to anxiety always feeling nervous waiting for the other shoe to drop," Cressida says. "…Also, a sense of loss of identity because you have so many other people telling you what you're supposed to do, who you're supposed to be, what should or shouldn't happen."
Cancer survivor Kat Cressida talks living with a hidden disability, and how she overcame it
Losing a sense of herself understandably caused Cressida to struggle with future plans and career. However, she worked hard to push past the side-effect and now encourages all survivors to be open with loved ones about emotional battles they’re facing and always ask for help you need.
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