Michael Douglas left ‘suffocating’ and ‘completely powerless’ from cancer caused by oral sex

Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.

In 2010, Michael Douglas was diagnosed with stage four squamous cell carcinoma oral cancer.

And in a 2013 interview, the actor claimed this came as a result of human papillomavirus (HPV) caused by ‘cunnilingus’.

Douglas later apologised for the 'embarrassment' his comments had caused his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, by saying ‘it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer’.

Now, in a new interview, the 82-year-old has praised how ‘supportive and wonderful’ the Kill Jackie star was through it all as he reflected on how his life has changed since.

For the Basic Instinct actor, his priorities shifted after his stage IV tongue cancer diagnosis and he’s happy watching his family thrive.

The pair have been married since 2000. (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

Shortly after his diagnosis, Douglas underwent an eight-week intensive course of chemotherapy and radiation and lost 20kg on a liquids-only diet.

He told The Guardian in 2013: “That's a rough ride. That can really take it out of you.

"Plus the amount of chemo I was getting, it zaps all the good stuff too. It made me very weak."

Douglas writes in his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, that he 'hated every part' of the treatment as he had to lay still wearing a thermoplastic mesh mask that hardened.

"I felt like I was suffocating, completely powerless," he writes. "At first the pain was bad but manageable, but by the third week I was in real trouble."

Reflecting on all of this, well over a decade later since he did his interview at nearly two years cancer-free, he's also opened up again to PEOPLE.

“During my bout of chemo and radiation, being knocked out and seeing the support that I got from my children — who didn’t quite understand everything but enough to know that Dad’s sick — really reminded me of this idea of how close family is and how supportive [and] wonderful Catherine was,” he said.

The actor added that it played an ‘important part’ when it came to ‘slowing down a little bit’ as well as ‘cherishing those’ who are closest to him.

“After that, my priorities changed,” Douglas said, as he writes in his memoir that cancer made him 'a free man'.

He retired last year. (Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)

Having produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975, the star has a lengthy list of credits as an actor and film producer.

That includes starring in the likes of Fatal Attraction, The Game, The Streets of San Francisco and The Kominsky Method.

But his last roles came as Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+’s miniseries Franklin in 2024 and Looking Through the Water in 2025.

And last year, Douglas announced his retirement from acting as he cited his age and wanting to spend more time with his family as the deciding factors.

He told PEOPLE that he’s content seeing his wife and kids thrive in their own products as his role is being ‘responsible to the family for planning the holidays’.

Douglas writes in his memoir: "It’s difficult to talk about, but it felt like a rebirth. My priorities changed. Cancer showed me what family is. It made me feel a love that I never knew really existed. I saw everything a little bit clearer, and a little brighter, and became more conscious of how I spent my time.”

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.