Michael Douglas on surviving stage four cancer
It’s kind of hard to believe that less than two years ago Michael Douglas was receiving treatment for stage four cancer. According to a New York Magazine profile on the actor, he also seems detached from that time.
“Cancer does give you a new rejuvenation. I know what it’s like to be down. I lost a couple of good friends—Larry Hagman and Nick Ashford—who had the same type of cancer that I did, and that makes you think. In the past, on purpose, I’ve never known what movie I’m going to do next. I never knew how I would feel when I finished a picture. Now it feels great to be back at work. Maybe that’s the benefit of taking a break with cancer: Then, people say, ‘What happened to him? Please come back.’ ”
Michael believes that his illness was in part brought on by his son Cameron’s problems. 34-year-old Cameron, who has struggled with addiction for most of his life, is currently in prison for selling drugs>
“Since he was 13, Cameron has been a chronic substance abuser. He was kicked out of school for dealing pot when he was 13, and that’s when I became aware of his problems. He’s a wonderful, talented kid who I love to death, but when heroin became his drug of choice in the last eight years, the situation became difficult. He was shooting up seven times a day. I knew that was going on. Cameron had a minor allowance which provided for his living expenses, but it didn’t pay for shooting up heroin seven times a day, which is $700 or $800 a day—times seven, which is around $5,000 a week. So he became a crystal-meth dealer, which is probably the most disgusting drug there is, to support his habit. At the time, he was living in California and was under investigation by the DEA. He got caught in a DEA drug sting, and he was offered either a ten-year sentence or the chance to cooperate with their investigation. His first call was to me, and I said, ‘You should cooperate.’ Naming names when it comes to drugs has a bad connotation, but the reality is, everyone talks. And it’s better than being in jail.”
The New York Magazine feature also involves a ton of background info on Michael’s role as Liberace in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming HBO movie Behind the Candelabra.
Michael’s wife Catherine Zeta-Jone is currently in a 30-day rehab program to treat her bipolar disorder. She previously sought rehab treatment for her mental health after Michael’s 2011 cancer treatment.
