Actor Michael Douglas Reveals He Had Tongue Cancer, Denied Truth To Protect Career

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It shocked the entire Hollywood industry when news broke that veteran actor Michael Douglas had throat cancer in 2010. But now that he has fully recovered, he is coming to admit that he lied about the real diagnosis of his then sickness.

Instead of what was announced as throat cancer, Douglas said it was really tongue cancer. According to CNN, he was pushed to deny the truth as advised by his personal doctor so as to protect his well established career.

The actor even shared that if had done surgery, then it would've been possible to have lose not just his tongue but also his jaw. People.com added that when the disease was diagnosed, the 69-year-old actor was doing a tour for his movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Instead of having to face a wide range of questions from reporters once they learned of the possible facial disfiguration that his disease coulve led to, he and his doctors thought it best to hide the truth.

It was a walnut sized tumor that he had right at his tongue's base portion, the Huffington Post reports. The actor went through a good mix of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. By January 2011, he was finally free of the tumor. However, it was his marriage which had to suffer next as he is now currently separated from his actress wife.

On Kissing Matt Damon

According to the actor, it was not that hard to lock lips with actor Matt Damon as they play gay roles for the movie Behind The Candelabra. "We both read the same script, we knew what we had to do, so let's get on with it, that was the feeling, and once you get that first kiss behind you then it's all gravy after that," Douglas explained with Express UK.