Oscar-winner Michael Douglas has revealed that he lied about having throat cancer to cover up his tongue cancer diagnosis.
The 69-year-old star, who had spoken candidly in 2010 about his battle with cancer, recently disclosed on a show that he was suffering from tongue, not throat cancer, reported People magazine.
At the time, the Behind the Candelabra star was preparing to go to Europe to promote the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
"This was right before I had a big tour for Wall Street, so we kind of said, 'There's no way we can cancel the tour and say we don't feel well,'" Douglas admitted.
"I said, 'You've just got to come out and just tell them I've got cancer and that's it.'" he added.
His doctor, who discovered a walnut-size tumour at the base of Douglas's tongue, advised him to fudge the truth a little.
"But the surgeon said, 'Let's just say it's throat cancer.' I said 'OK, you don't want me to say it's tongue cancer? Why's that?' and he said, 'Well, if you really want to know why, if we do have to have surgery it's not going to be pretty. You'll lose part of you jaw and your tongue and all of that stuff.' So I said, 'OK sure'", Douglas explained.
Rather than having to discuss possible facial disfigurement with reporters on the press tour, they decided to disguise the truth.
Douglas, who's currently separated from wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, triumphed over the disease after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
