The 65-year-old Wall Street star said in an interview with People magazine that he expects to make a full recovery after a walnut-sized tumour was found on the base of his tongue in early August.
Douglas is currently undergoing an eight-week course of radiation and chemotherapy in New York. His doctors said there is no evidence that the cancer has spread.
"I'm treating this as a curable disease," he said. "It's a fight. I'll beat this."
Douglas' wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, said the most difficult part of the ordeal has been seeing her husband fatigued "because Michael is never tired." Zeta-Jones, who has two children - Dylan, 10, and Carys, 7 - with Douglas, said she was furious doctors didn't detect the tumour earlier. Douglas said he spent months seeking a cause for throat and ear pain.
"Without having to blame anybody ... these things sometimes just don't show up," he said.
Besides his medical battle, Douglas is also facing a legal showdown. Lawyers representing the actor and his ex-wife Diandra Douglas are tangling over her claim that she's entitled to half his earnings from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the Wall Street sequel set to open Sept. 24. Douglas said the lawsuit "kind of came out of left field."
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