14 DAY TRIAL // In what is his first interview since announcing he’s been diagnosed with throat cancer, stage 4, Michael Douglas put in an appearance on David Letterman to talk the disease, treatment and expectations.
Just as he was preparing for the promo tour of his upcoming film, “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,” Michael learned that he had cancer, stage 4, he tells Letterman.
However, he’d been feeling ill for some time then, experiencing a very sore throat only weeks before heading to Europe on a family vacation, but no doctor could find out what was wrong with him.
Then the shock came, says the actor, still retaining the sense of humor that made him such a beloved star with all types of audiences.
At the time he learned of his cancer, he’d also just gotten the invitation to appear on Letterman to promote “Wall Street 2,” so that left Douglas wondering whether there wasn’t a connection between the two.
“No, there can’t possibly be a medical connection!” Letterman protests, as the video below can confirm. “I couldn’t resist,” says Michael laughing heartily and, as Letterman also notes, looking better than ever.
This is Michael’s first week of chemotherapy and doctors are telling him that odds are looking good he can beat the disease.
“I would hate to say, but right now, it looks like it should be 80 percent, and with certain hospitals and everything, it does improve. Believe me, this is the first week and the progression goes down,” the star reveals.
“That’s intense, so they gotta go at it. [The chemo] knocks you out really hard,” says Michael of the treatment he’s been receiving. He’s still got a full head of thick hair and hasn’t lost much weight.
“But the big thing you’re always worried about is it spreading. I am head and neck, above the neck, so nothing’s gone down and expectations are good. It is going to cut into the foreign promotional tour for Wall Street, to say the least,” the star adds.
To check out bits of Michael Douglas’ sit-down with David Letterman, see the video below.