Michael Douglas reveals throat cancer at stage IV

[joeybee12]

LOS ANGELES — Michael Douglas said on Tuesday he felt optimistic about recovering from throat cancer but drew gasps when he told a television audience he had the most advanced stage.

The 65-year-old "Wall Street" actor told talk-show host David Letterman that a biopsy indicated that his cancer was at stage four, which he described as "intense, and so they've got to go at it ..."

Letterman asked whether stage IV was a good diagnosis. "Um no," Douglas replied, according to a transcript provided by CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman." "You like to be down at stage one ... but it has not — the big thing you're always worried about is it spreading."

Stage four cancer has spread far beyond the original tumor and is usually impossible to cure.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38949849/ns/today-entertainment/

I wish him and his family well in this battle.

[slackmaster]

1. Crap

Good luck, Mr. Douglas.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. My Mom did not survive stage 4 cancer.

At the time she was unaware of what the stages meant, unfortunately, I was not.
she was 57.
Hopefully in the last 20 years there has been progress in treating cancers like that.

While I am not a big fan of Mr. Douglas, I do not wish on him or his family the experience we went through.

[sarge43]

3. Dreadful, dreadful disease

Good God, his father could survive him. How awful.

Healing thoughts and vibes, Mr Douglas.

[dkf]

4. That hits home.

:(

[sinkingfeeling]

5. The person writing this article knows nothing about head and neck cancers. 70% of throat cancers

aren't discovered until they are advanced. The main problems are the age of patient (most between 50 and 70), the difficulty in diagnosing the cancer, and the rate of recurrence in the same area (as high as 35%). My oncologist tells me the most important factor in stopping the recurrences is to stop smoking. I was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer of the tonsils last year. I had a neck dissection surgery in Jan. 2009 and 33 radiation treatments ending in May. I declined to do the chemo.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1289986-overview

For all sites and stages in the head and neck region, 5-year survival rates average 59%. Treatment of early lymphatic nodal spread and use of multiple modalities has resulted in improved survival in selected sites.

Depth of lesion and percent survival

•<2 mm - 95%
•2-9 mm - 80%
•>9 mm - 65%


More stats on 5 year survival rates here: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/throat-cancer-survival-rate.html