Michael Douglas revealed misdiagnosed symptoms before finding out he had cancer caused by oral sex
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Matt Carr/Getty Images
Actor Michael Douglas revealed the symptoms he had that were misdiagnosed prior to his cancer diagnosis in 2010, after claiming his diagnosis came as a result of having oral sex.
The 81-year-old Hollywood star opened up in 2014, four years after battling IV oropharynx cancer - a type of head and neck cancer that develops in the middle part of the throat.
He was just 65 when doctors informed him of the prognosis, but was cancer free just a year later in 2011, after receiving a combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
But his journey to a diagnosis, like many cancer patients, did not come without hurdles.
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Speaking at the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies 5th World Congress in New York, Douglas explained how his symptoms were misdiagnosed 'not once, not twice, but three times'.
He said: "It all started out pretty innocently with a soreness of my gum behind my last molar. And being pretty diligent about my health, I went to see my general practitioner, who thought I had an infection and so was prescribing antibiotics, which, being a good patient, I took.
"And then I saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and then I saw a periodontist. But after a number of months when this supposed infection hadn’t gone away despite multiple rounds of treatment, I was pretty certain that this wasn’t simply just a sore gum."
But it wasn't until seeing an otolaryngology specialist who had an 'uh oh' moment, as Douglas describes it, that he was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.
"From what little I knew, this wasn’t good, and I think that was probably the scariest moment I faced," he said.
The star explained that doctors had found a walnut-size tumor at the base of his tongue that 'no other doctor had seen'.
In an honest interview with the Guardian, the star opened up about the cause of his cancer.
After being asked whether he regretted smoking and drinking for years when he was diagnosed, Douglas responded: "No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus."
According to Healthline, cunnilingus is the oral stimulation of a woman's genitalia (the vulva and/or clitoris) using the lips, mouth, or tongue.
The actor said: "Yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer."
He added that 'cunnilingus' is the also the 'best cure for it' - a claim that has since been disputed by doctors.