In a situation familiar for many cancer survivors, actor Stanley Tucci, 64, says he is still struggling with complications from the treatment which allowed him to successfully beat oral cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, oral cancer is twice as common in men than in women, and the incidence is going up among men, which is attributed to the HPV virus. Oral cancer is curable when detected and treated early.
The “Devil Wears Prada” star said he originally thought stress was the underlying issue, but doctors noticed his cholesterol levels were really high before learning the real problem.
“What happened was because I had radiation six, seven years ago, it burned out my thyroid,” he shared.
Tucci said his oncologist in New York explained this can “sometimes” happen later on and that he was relieved to know it wasn’t a “new hideous thing,” to go through.
The “Hunger Games” actor also revealed he has to take a synthetic thyroid hormone pill, which “is a synthetic thyroid,” and will go through additional blood tests to determine if more treatment is needed.
While Tucci is feeling better, his health is still not 100%.
“You can’t think,” he said. “You can’t move, you can’t think, you can’t. And once I started taking the pill, it made a huge difference.”
Stanley Tucci’s Cancer Journey
When Tucci got the news of his cancer diagnosis, he was completely stunned. His first wife Kate died from breast cancer at age 47 in 2009 he shared in a 2023 episode of Willie Geist “Sunday Sitdown” where he admitted how fearful he was.
”My late wife and I, we traveled all over the world trying to find a cure for her. So when I got it, I was completely shocked,” he told Geist. “I was terrified, absolutely terrified.” He added, “I lost 35 pounds,” he said. “I couldn’t eat…and everything tasted like you know what and smelled like you know what. And it took months and months and months for me to finally be able to eat again and then taste properly again.”
In an interview with Vera magazine, Tucci said he was hesitant to do treatment after witnessing what his late wife went through, but ultimately decided to move forward with battling the disease.
The tumor found on his tongue was “too big to operate, so they had to do high-dose radiation and chemo,” he explained. “I’d vowed I’d never do anything like that, because my first wife died of cancer, and to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible.”
Symptoms of Oral Cancer
Oral cancer typically affects people over the age of 40 and occurs in men more often, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The NIDCR states the following symptoms are common:
- A sore, irritation, lump or thick patch in your mouth, lip, or throat.
- A white or red patch in your mouth.
- Persistent sore throat, a feeling that something is caught in your throat, or hoarseness or loss of your voice.
- A lump in the neck.
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or speaking.
- Difficulty moving your jaw or tongue.
- Swelling of your jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable.
- Pain or bleeding in the mouth.
- Numbness in your tongue or other areas of your mouth.
- Ear pain.
Causes of Oral Cancer:
- Tobacco use such as smoking cigarettes or a pipe
- Heavy alcohol consumption
- Excessive sun exposure
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection
What To Know HPV:
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s spread by mouth or oral sex, with men having a higher risk of contracting the infection.
David Forner, head and neck surgical oncologist and microvascular reconstructive surgeon at the University of Michigan, exclusively tells SurvivorNet that HPV is a very common exposure for almost everyone nowadays. “There are some studies suggesting that up to 90% of people will be exposed to human papillomavirus at some point in their life. This is still considered a sexually transmitted infection. Most patients, when they’re exposed, will just clear the virus.”
He says, “ Many patients are exposed in their younger years, they get rid of the virus and they never knew that they had it. Others will keep that virus and it will never cause a cancer. A small subset of people that have been exposed to the human papillomavirus where their body does no clear the cancer, and it does create the, oh, I guess I should backtrack there. There are a subset of people that are exposed to the human papillomavirus. Their body does not clear the virus, and it ultimately ends up with a cancer.”
HPV Vaccine:
A vaccine for HPV is available. According to Forner, “Human papillomavirus actually has a number of different subtypes, and
those vaccines help prevent infections in a set of those subtypes.” He explains, “Even if you’ve already been exposed to one subsite, the vaccine could be helpful in preventing you from being infected with the human papillomavirus of a different subtype.”
In addition, the vaccine can also help possibly prevent cancer from developing that are caused by human papillomavirus.
“This is especially true of cervical cancer in women, and we think it will be true of throat cancers in both men and women,” says Forner. “The data is not fully there yet to know to what extent cancers have been prevented by vaccination programs that have been rolled out, but we think in the next couple decades we really should start to see a decrease in the number of cancers, especially in those patients that have been vaccinated.”
Oral Cancer Treatment:
Oral cancer can be successfully treated with chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of both. Early detection is vital since the cancer spreads quickly, and per the NIDCR, specialists who can diagnose the cancer include:
- Head and neck surgeons.
- Dentists who specialize in surgery of the mouth, face, and jaw (oral and maxillofacial surgeons).
- Ear, nose, and throat doctors (otolaryngologists).
- Doctors who specifically treat cancer (medical and radiation oncologists).
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