Veteran actor Edward James Olmos, known for roles in Battlestar Galactica and Mayans MC among many others, recently revealed that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and finished his chemotherapy in late 2022. The actor is now in remission, but it was not an easy road, and given what he does for a living, an infection of his throat and vocal chords was likely also intimidating because if you recover, it could still have long-lasting effects on your career. It seems he has made it through without that happening, thankfully, and he spoke about his illness for the first time on a podcast interview (via Entertainment Weekly).
The Academy Award-nominated actor said that doctors warned him in advance that they “didn’t know what [Olmos would] sound like” after the chemo and radiation. Olmos obviously went for the treatment, and still sounds like himself. He credits regular exercise for helping him survive the cancer, and helping his body cope with the trauma.
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“This would be the first time publicly I’ll be coming out and saying it, but I had throat cancer,” Olmos told Mando & Friends. “I just finished getting through it. December 20 was my last radiation. The week before, I’d finished my chemo and [for] months and months I was on radiation and chemo as it attacked my throat.”
You can see a clip from the podcast below.
“There were times in the months that I was undergoing the treatments that the body gives up,” said Olmos, who reveals he lost more than 50 pounds at one point during the illness. “And I didn’t want to take my food through my stomach. They wanted to put tubes in and feed me nutrients because I couldn’t swallow. They had to get 2,500 calories into my body every day. That was ridiculous. That was so hard.”
He says that he continues to exercise aggressively, helping keep up his physical fitness with miles of swimming and a weight regimen every day, even now that the cancer is in remission and his treatment is behind him.
“It was an experience that changed me, the understanding of how wonderful this life is,” Olmos said. “I’ve been through some experiences that have gotten me close to death, but that was close.”
Olmos can currently be seen in the fifth and final season of Mayans MC, which premiered on FX on May 24.
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