Michael Douglas wishes he spent more time having fun than focusing on his career
Michael Douglas (65), who’s married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones, must undergo chemotherapy and radiation after a tumor was found in his throat.
The actor— whose father is Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas, now 93 — admits that while he feels he missed out on some fun, he is proud of what he has achieved.
“Yeah, I like my batting average,” he said. “Maybe I could have relaxed a little more and had more fun. But I felt I’d a lot to prove to my father so I had to succeed.”
It was recently revealed that Michael, 65, could lose his voice during his battle against throat cancer.
“When a patient is getting radiation and chemotherapy combined, they typically have an advanced stage of cancer,” said Dr. Lawrence Tena, a physician in the department of radiation and oncology at the Beth Israel Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City.
“Sixty to 70 percent of patients, even with advanced cancers, survive.”
Lawrence added the positive news is most throat cancers are localized within the body.
“Localized means the cancer has not spread below the clavicle,” he said
“The body has the ability to keep cancers above the clavicle; it is just the nature of the immune system and lymphatic system. If it is local, it is curable.”