Oliver Stone Worried About Michael Douglas' Health
BERLIN (CBS/AP) -- Director Oliver Stone says he is worried about the health of actor Michael Douglas who is battling throat cancer in an advanced stage.
Stone said Tuesday in Berlin that Douglas is in a "precarious" state of health.
He said Douglas, who reprised his role as stock trader Gordon Gekko in Stone's latest film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," was meant to accompany him on a promotion tour in Europe.
But Stone said Douglas is still "suffering" and remained in the U.S. for further cancer treatments.
The 65-year-old Douglas said in August he is battling throat cancer, but he attended the film's premiere in New York three weeks ago.
During an appearance August 31 on David Letterman's "Late Show'' on CBS, the actor said he had just finished his first week of radiation and chemotherapy. That drew a surprised reaction from Letterman.
"You've never looked better to me, and this proves that you're a tough guy, for God's sakes,'' the talk-show host said.
"Let's just say ... I'm pretty lit up right now,'' Douglas replied.
The disease was diagnosed earlier in August, he said, although he had complained of a very sore throat earlier this year and had undergone testing that failed to find a cause.
Douglas, 65, who has two children with Catherine Zeta-Jones, said he enjoyed the summer traveling with his family before returning to the doctor. A biopsy found he had late, stage-four cancer, "which is intense, and so they've had to go at it,'' he said.
However, Douglas said, the cancer remains above the neck and that means expectations are good, with an 80 percent or better chance of recovery.
Asked by Letterman about his personal habits, he said he had smoked and consumed alcohol.
According to a National Institutes of Health website, use of tobacco or alcohol are among the factors that put people at risk of developing throat cancer. Combining tobacco and drinking increases the risk.
Most throat cancer develops in people older than 50, with men more likely than women to get the disease, the NIH site says.
Stone's newest film is a sequel to the 1987 "Wall Street," for which Douglas won an Academy Award.
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