In his first TV interview since undergoing treatment for stage IV oropharyngeal cancer, actor Michael Douglas said his tumor is gone and that he may have beaten the cancer.
In a taped interview with NBC's Matt Lauer that aired January 11, Douglas said he felt relieved after a "wild, six-month ride" and that the odds are that he has beaten the disease.
The 66-year-old actor lost 32 pounds following chemotherapy and radiation treatment but has regained 12 so far, he told Lauer, and he will continue to go back to the doctor for monthly checkups.
He said his salivary ducts have closed down as a result of the radiation and will probably remain that way for at least a year or two.
Douglas first revealed he had been diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer last summer. Doctors found a walnut-sized tumor at the base of his tongue and told him at the time he had an 80% survival rate if the cancer hadn't spread to his lymph nodes.
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