Michael Douglas remains optimistic about his throat cancer

Oscar winning actor Michael Douglas, who just completed the first of eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy stopped by “The Late Show with David Letterman,” Douglas revealed that he has advanced, Stage 4 cancer. the actor said his doctors told him he has an 80 percent survival rate from a stage four cancer, the cancer remains above the neck and that means expectations are good.

Douglas, 65, said that doctors failed to detect the growth in his throat when he went to them complaining of a sore throat early in the summer.

“It had been bothering me for a while. … In early summer, I had a really sore throat, early in the summer, and I actually went through a litany of doctors and tests and they didn’t find anything.”

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones says she is ‘furious’ that her husband’s throat cancer was not detected sooner despite months of numerous tests.

Douglas, speaks to Letterman about the cause of the cancer, saying: “I smoked cigarettes and I drank and this particular type of cancer is caused by alcohol… But it’s been a long year and I do think this is stress related.”

Although Douglas was diagnosed three weeks ago, the first symptoms appeared earlier this year. The actor was having trouble swallowing and a sore throat. Other symptoms of throat cancer can include changes in your voice (such as hoarseness), a cough, ear pain, difficulty swallowing, a lump or sore that doesn’t heal and weight loss.

In recent months Douglas has been creating positive buzz for his reprising the role of Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street sequel, Money Never Sleeps, which premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival.