Michael Douglas Vulnerably Discusses How His Friends Behaved After His Cancer Diagnosis

Getty

Michael Douglas cancer battle

Michael Douglas was left feeling utterly shocked by the way that his friends reacted to his stage 4 cancer diagnosis back in the 2010s. The Oscar-winning actor chatted about it in a recent interview with The New York Times ahead of the release of his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride”.

How Did Michael’s Friends React?

Michael shared that he felt very isolated after receiving his diagnosis for throat and tongue cancer, saying that very few of his friends made time to check in with him because they had no idea what to do. He chatted candidly about the reality of it, and how he had to confront thoughts about his mortality all on hi s own.

The star said at the time: “There’s something about cancer, it makes people not want to be near you. I was surprised by how few people checked in. They don’t know what to say.”

Speaking about it in his memoir, Michael emotionally wrote: “I wondered if my luck had run out.”

One friend who did stay close to Michael during his cancer journey was screenwriter Shane Salerno. The pair met back in the early 2000s, and Shane made sure to keep teasing Michal about his early career days in the industry to help him take his mind off of darker thoughts.

Salerno said: “I tried to remind Michael that every time someone had told him he couldn’t do something he had proven them wrong.” Michael at the time also told the outlet that he “was really touched” by Shane’s efforts during such a difficult chapter in his life.

Other Struggles Michael Has Faced

Michael’s tell-all memoir shares information and insights from many other difficult times in his life. One of these was the strained relationship he had balancing his marriage to first wife Diandra Luker and his career.

He spoke about this further in an interview with Associated Press, detailing: “I do not believe that you can balance career with family. You just can’t balance it. So I’m always saying to my kids or anybody else that will listen – get your career out of the way before you think about marrying and having kids. That affected my first marriage, because I was consumed.’

The memoir also touched on Michael’s lifestyle of non-monogamy, having affairs with co-stars and more. When he met his current wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael was seeing five other women in different states because he felt that would be a more “respectful” way to practise non-monogamy. Though as soon as Catherine gave him an ultimatum to stay with her and only her, he made five phone calls that same day and cut all the other ladies in his life off for good.

Further topics discussed in Michael’s memoir include his strained bond with his late father, Kirk Douglas, and battles with addiction. We applaud Michael for being so open in his memoir, as that would have taken a lot for anyone to do. We wish him and Catherine all the best with what’s yet to come.