Michael Douglas: oral sex caused my cancer

Actor reveals to the Guardian that HPV, transmitted through oral sex, was responsible for his throat cancer

Michael Douglas on Liberace, Cannes, cancer and cunnilingus
James Ball: is Douglas right about cunnilingus cancer link?

Michael Douglas: 'There was a walnut-size tumour at the base of my tongue that no other doctor had seen.' Photograph: AAPImages/ALIVEpress/dpa/Corbis

Michael Douglas – the star of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction – has revealed that his throat cancer was apparently caused by performing oral sex.

In a surprisingly frank interview with the Guardian, the actor, now winning plaudits in the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, explained the background to a condition that was thought to be nearly fatal when diagnosed three years ago. Asked whether he now regretted his years of smoking and drinking, usually thought to be the cause of the disease, Douglas replied: "No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus."

Douglas, the husband of Catherine Zeta Jones, continued: "I did worry if the stress caused by my son's incarceration didn't help trigger it. But yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it."

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