Understanding Cancer: How Drugs Treat or Increase Risk

General, Localised, And Others: Some Symptoms That Can Signal The Presence Of Cancer Much Before Diagnosis

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Val Kilmer Ignored These Symptoms Before A Harrowing 2015 Hospitalization Led To Throat Cancer Diagnosis

Val Kilmer, best known for movies such as 1986's Top Gun and 1995's Batman Forever, died of pneumonia at age 65 on Tuesday, April 1.

In 2015, the actor was diagnosed with throat cancer, and he later recovered. He shared in his 2020 memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry, that he actually ignored some of his symptoms before being hospitalized for the disease.

In the book, he recounts how, in 2014, he was scheduled to perform his one-man show, Citizen Twain, but was forced to cancel after losing his voice. He also noticed a lump in his throat and realized it had become hard to swallow — but he didn't seek medical attention until a harrowing experience in 2015.

"One night I suddenly awoke vomiting blood that covered the bed like a scene out of The Godfather. I prayed immediately, then called 911," he wrote in his book.

Kilmer was hospitalized and learned that the lump in his throat was cancer. He underwent a tracheotomy, chemotherapy and radiation and also turned to his Christian Science faith and prayed for healing. "I wasn't ready to die," he said. "Healing is not born of vanity, it is born of honesty."

"I have been healed of cancer for over four years now, and there has never been any reoccurrence. I am so grateful," he wrote at the time.

Val Kilmer. Rob Kim/Getty

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Kilmer admitted he had been battling throat cancer for two years in a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which he was joined by his kids Mercedes and Jack. The news came after confusion about his health had been sparked by Michael Douglas, to whom Kilmer responded in a November 2016 Facebook post, denying he had throat cancer.

"Reports emerged that I was in denial. Well, denial is a funny thing. I was not denying that I had had cancer but was simply saying I no longer did," he wrote in his memoir. "And to be honest, it was very hard to embrace my original diagnosis. It was surreal. I didn't believe I was decomposing, and I wasn't ready to die."

Throat cancer is a general term that applies to cancers that develop in the pharynx (throat) or larynx (voice box). Common symptoms include a lump on the neck, ear pain, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, ongoing cough or coughing up blood. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of throat cancer typically go unnoticed until the disease progresses, which is why it's essential to seek medical care if symptoms don't improve.

Nurse Diagnosed With Rectal Cancer At 33 Reveals 2 Symptoms Doctors Dismissed

At 35, Katie Dutton is already a rectal cancer survivor, an ordeal that started with seemingly benign symptoms doctors initially dismissed.

She was told to change her diet and was treated for hemorrhoids before a colonoscopy finally revealed a mass at the end of her digestive system.

"It was shocking — it was just pure shock," Dutton, a nurse who lives in Tacoma, Washington, tells TODAY.Com about her diagnosis.

"I had no risk factors."

In May 2022, Dutton suddenly started experiencing constipation. She'd never had that issue before, but while on vacation in Las Vegas, she noticed she didn't have a bowel movement for a week.

In December of that year, she saw a big gush of bright red blood after a bowel movement and then consistent bleeding almost every time she went to the bathroom.

When Dutton mentioned those warning signs to her doctor, she was told it was probably hemorrhoids that were acting up because of the constipation. The physician's advice was to eat more fiber. 

"When I started having symptoms, (colorectal cancer) was sort of on my radar, but still I was like, 'Nah, probably not,'" she recalls.

"Bright red blood in the stool can be caused by hemorrhoids so I kind of took them at their word on that. I thought it was hemorrhoids."

In June 2023, Dutton went to a new primary care doctor who referred her to a gastroenterologist. A colonoscopy revealed a large polyp in her rectum that finally set her diagnosis in motion.

Katie Dutton was diagnosed with rectal cancer at 33.Courtesy Katie Dutton Colorectal cancer symptoms

Rectal cancer starts in the rectum, the last six inches of the digestive system where stool is stored until it passes through the anus, according to the American Cancer Society.

It accounts for about 30% of new colorectal cancer cases in the U.S.

Doctors are seeing the disease more and more in younger people for unknown reasons, says Dr. Laila Rashidi, a colorectal surgeon at MultiCare in Tacoma, Washington, who treated Dutton. Half of Rashidi's patients are under 50, she notes.

Dutton has no family history of colorectal cancer or any other risk factors like eating lots of red and processed meat, smoking or leading a sedentary lifestyle, Rashidi points out.

"Katie did not have any of those. So that tells you it can happen to anybody, and we still don't know why," Rashidi tells TODAY.Com.

"She's healthy. She's young. She's active. She eats well. She exercised every day, she's in health care. She's the perfect example of someone that you would never think of."

Dutton was active and healthy. She ran a 12k in June 2022, right after her symptoms started.Courtesy Katie Dutton

Constipation is one of the warning signs because if the tumor gets large, stool can't pass easily, Rashidi says. Sometimes, just the liquid portion of waste can pass around the tumor, so some patients report what they think is diarrhea, she adds.

Rectal bleeding is the "red flag symptom" to be concerned about, Dr. Daniel Chung, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, previously told TODAY.Com. He's not involved in this case.

If the blood is darker in color, it's had time to get oxidized so it's usually coming from higher up in the colon, Rashidi says. If it's bright red, that means the bleeding is happening low in the rectum, which could be hemorrhoids or cancer, she adds. The bleeding can be painless, so always look at your stool and watch for blood mixed with it, Rashidi advises.

"Listen to your body. If something is different, don't take it lightly, especially with bowel function, blood or just bloating," she says.

Changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, anemia, abdominal pain, narrow stools and an unproductive urge to have a bowel movement are also colorectal cancer symptoms.

'Rule out cancer first. The stakes are too high'

When Dutton's polyp was biopsied, it came back as precancerous. But doctors were suspicious and kept testing because of an enlarged lymph node near her rectal area.

Dutton officially found out she had Stage 3B rectal cancer on Black Friday in November 2023. She was just 33 years old.

"Part of me was relieved because I think the waiting and the not knowing is the hardest part of cancer," she says.

"Part of me was shocked, and then part of me was just ready to hunker down and do something."

Dutton in the hospital with her partner, Drew Thompson.Courtesy Katie Dutton

She underwent four months of chemotherapy, but was relieved she didn't need radiation to her pelvis, which would have left her unable to have children.

In May 2024, Dutton underwent surgery to remove all traces of the mass and most of her rectum. Rashidi then connected the healthy parts of her digestive system back together.

The nurse had two more months of chemotherapy and is now being monitored with imaging every three months and lab work, including a lab test to check for circulating tumor DNA.

Dutton urges others to be aware of the symptoms and advocate for themselves.

"If I could do it again, I would have been a lot more aggressive with asking for a colonoscopy much earlier. But even me, it wasn't on my radar. I was like, 'I'm probably fine. I'm so young.' But that's not the case anymore," she says.

"Rule out cancer first. The stakes are too high."

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