While giving a Q&A this week, Michael Douglas dropped some sad news about his friend and Ghost and the Darkness co-star Val-Kilmer. In the interview he said that Kilmer is suffering from tongue cancer and is losing the battle,
Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had, and things don’t look too good for him. My prayers are with him. That’s why you haven’t heard too much from Val lately.”
Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010, but his illness was later revealed to be tongue cancer. He has been cancer free since 2011, but suffered significant weight loss through agressive treatments to remove the tumor. In January of 2015 Kilmer was hospitalized to be tested for a tumor. At the time, Kilmer’s representatives announced that he was tumor free.
The announcement comes in the wake of growing throat and tongue cancer victims across the United States. According to the Washington Post, insurance claims reports have revealed a 61% increase in male patients with oral cancer between 2011 and 2015.