Behind the camera, the man who plays Iceman, Val Kilmer, is still experiencing the consequences of treatment for a throat cancer battle that left him with a hole in his neck to help him breathe.
The star, now 62, was diagnosed with the illness in 2015 but remained quiet about it for two years until he posted about it online during a social media ask me anything session on Reddit.
Later, he told the New York Times that he was reluctant to even have treatment – which would turn out to be intensive.
Before he became cured in 2016, he had to undergo radiation and chemotherapy multiple times, and receive surgery.
It left him with permanent damage to his vocal cords, as well as a tracheostomy.
The NHS explains that a tracheostomy is when an opening is created in the front of the neck to fit a tube inside the windpipe which helps with breathing.
Macmillan cancer support states: “A temporary tracheostomy is sometimes done to make it easier to breathe after certain operations or before radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.”
Kilmer shared details about his procedure with Good Morning America in the past, explaining that it was done to “help me breathe because the glands in my throat swelled up as well”
Since first opening up about it on Reddit, he has not shied away from talking about the issue. He even discussed it in a 2020 documentary about him called Val.
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Some of the symptoms you may experience from cancer in one of these areas, include coughing, difficulty swallowing, and weight loss, Mayo Clinic states.
Other symptoms include:
- Ear pain
- A lump that doesn’t heal
- Vocal changes such as hoarseness.
Kilmer never shared specifically what caused his cancer but there are several factors known to increase your risk of getting the disease.
Smoking, excess alcohol use, and viral infections such as the sexually transmitted HPV virus, and a diet lacking in fruit and vegetables are all known to be significant risk factors.
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