Michael Douglas has previously spoken about the early warning signs he experienced before receiving a cancer diagnosis in 2010, later drawing a link between his illness and oral sex.
The Hollywood actor, now 81, discussed his experience publicly in 2014 — several years after he faced stage IV oropharyngeal cancer, a head and neck cancer that forms in the central area of the throat.
Douglas was 65 when he learned of his condition. Following a course of chemotherapy and radiation, he was declared cancer-free in 2011.
Like many people navigating serious illness, he has said the path to an accurate diagnosis was far from straightforward.
While speaking at the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies 5th World Congress in New York, Douglas explained that medical professionals initially got it wrong multiple times, saying he was misdiagnosed “not once, not twice, but three times”.
Douglas said the first sign seemed minor — a persistent sore spot near his back teeth — and he sought help quickly.
“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.”
He went on to explain that it was only after consulting an otolaryngology specialist — who reacted with what Douglas described as an immediate “uh oh” — that the seriousness of his condition became clear, and 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.
According to Douglas, doctors ultimately discovered a walnut-sized tumor at the base of his tongue that, he claimed, previous examinations had missed.
In a separate interview with The Guardian, Douglas addressed the question of whether his past lifestyle — including smoking and drinking — left him with regrets after the diagnosis.
“No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus.”
Healthline defines cunnilingus as the oral stimulation of a woman’s genitalia (the vulva and/or clitoris) using the lips, mouth, or tongue.
“Yeah, it’s a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer.”
He also suggested that ‘cunnilingus’ is the also the ‘best cure for it’ — a statement that doctors have since challenged.