Dustin Hoffman is best known for his roles in the films Kramer vs. Kramer and All the President’s Men. The 84-year-old celebrity has had relatively few health issues, but a cancer scare when he was 75 took everyone off guard.
Little is known about the Hollywood actor’s cancer, including how it was diagnosed, but the actor has successfully received treatment for throat cancer, according to a 2013 statement made by his agent Jodi Gottlieb. The two-time Oscar winner was then subjected to extra therapy to ensure that the fatal illness did not reoccur.
In an exclusive statement to People, Jodi Gottlieb said that “it was discovered early and he has been surgically treated.”
However, the representative cryptically declined to make any further comments on the matter.
Hoffman has been marketing his first feature film, Quartet, in the days leading up to the announcement.
He had previously appeared in a television version of Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot alongside Dame Judi Dench.
Jodi added that the actor was “feeling amazing and in good health” after overcoming cancer.
Following his diagnosis, the actor was seen in Los Angeles filming Chef, a 2014 comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Sofia Vergara, and was reported as healthy and enthusiastic.
The Mayo Clinic reports that throat cancer frequently begins in the pharynx or larynx, which correspond to your throat and voice box.
Because of the multitude of tissues and areas within the neck, doctors rarely use the term “carcinoma of the throat.”
Because the majority of throat cancers involve the same types of cells, specific terminology are only used to distinguish the affected part of the throat and where the disease originated.
Ear ache, a sore throat, and a lump in the neck are all warning signals, according to Cancer Research UK.
According to Cancer Research, despite the fact that anyone can develop the disease, a person’s risk increases with age, and there are very few cases of throat cancer in those under the age of 40.
Other factors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol can increase your risk of acquiring certain cancers, including throat cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a study that found a link between certain drugs and the risk of laryngeal cancer:
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Despite the fact that there are numerous other treatment options, radiation and chemotherapy are routinely used to target and kill cancer cells.
If the cancer is advanced, a combination of surgery to remove all or part of the larynx, radiation, and chemotherapy may be used. However, after having their larynx removed, people will be unable to speak or breathe normally.
They will instead breathe through a stoma, a permanent hole in their neck, and will need further speech and language treatment.
Fortunately, most cancers are detected and treated early, as Dustin was. According to the NHS, 65 out of 100 patients will live for five years or more after diagnosis, with 55 living for more than ten.