'Hunger Games' Actor Stanley Tucci Discloses Dreaded Illness Years After Wife Kate Died From Breast Cancer
Stanley Tucci, who famously played a role on "Hunger Games," spoke candidly about his health years ago.
In a new interview with Virgin Atlantic's inflight magazine Vera for its September issue, Tucci said he was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. The actor never talked about his health issue not until his recent magazine appearance.
According to Tucci, he initially noticed a tumor at the base of his tongue, which was big enough to make operation impossible. As a result, he opted to have high-dose radiation and chemotherapy.
Since his late wife, Kate Spath-Tucci, died due to breast cancer, he never imagined going through a similar treatment. Kate died in 2009 at the age of 47 due to breast cancer.
"I'd vowed I'd never do anything like that, because my first wife died of cancer, and to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible," Tucci went on, as quoted by Deadline.
Stanley Tucci's Journey After Cancer Diagnosis
The 60-year-old actor also took his time to recall what he went through after receiving the diagnosis.
Per Tucci, it was too hard that the treatment once caused him to use a feeding tube just to consume food while undergoing treatments.
It was not easy for their two children also to see him suffer because of the dreaded disease. He noted that the event also caused him to miss the twins' high school graduation.
Fortunately, he finally entered the remission phase and was assured that his cancer is highly unlikely to return. Even with that thought, he still keeps in mind how the diagnosis changed his perspective.
"[Cancer] makes you more afraid and less afraid at the same time," he said. "I feel much older than I did before I was sick. But you still want to get ahead and get things done," he went on.
At the time of his diagnosis, Tucci still worked on different projects. For what it's worth, he appeared on "Night Hunter," "Patient Zero," and "A Private War" since 2018. He also spent his time voicing a role in the film "Show Dogs."
Everything was surely hard for him, as the actor needed to deal with his problems while still grieving over the death of his wife. But with the help of his children, Tucci overcame everything.
