Actor Edward James Olmos talks about his throat cancer diagnosis, 'It was an experience that changed me'

Hollywood actor Edward James recently opened up about his cancer diagnosis. The 76-year-old actor has revealed that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer and completed his chemotherapy last year.

James's cancer diagnosis

The critically acclaimed actor opened up about his life-threatening disease during his recent appearance on the Mando & Friends Podcast. In a candid interview, the Oscar-nominated actortalked about the scary time and said, "This would be the first time publicly I'll be coming out and saying it, but I had throat cancer.''

The actor added further, "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."

The scare of losing his original voice

During the interview, Olmos shared that he consulted multiple doctors before starting the treatment, who warned him that he might end up losing his original voice.

''I had five doctors - the doctors would say right before I started, There's only one thing we have to tell you: We do not know what you're gonna sound like."

"I said, 'What?'" the actor recalled.

''We're shooting your vocal cords. We're shooting your throat. Where you eat, where you swallow, where you talk, breathe, everything goes through here," Olmos explained. "A lot of my friends have passed because of this."

The tough days

Recalling the hard treatment days, Olmos said he lost around 55 pounds during his treatment.

"There were times in the months that I was undergoing the treatments that the body gaveup," he said. "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."

However, now the actor is working on his health and body, "I swim a mile a day at least, sometimes two miles a day. Every day, seven days a week," he said. "And then I row and I do weights."

The hard time also made him realise how wonderful this life is,"It was an experience that changed me, the understanding of how wonderful this life is," Olmos said before adding,"I've been through some experiences that have gotten me close to death, but that was close."

Edward's famous roles

Edward is best known for his roles in Miami Vice, American Me,Stand and Deliver, and Blade Runneramong others.He earned an Oscar nomination for his work in 1988’s Stand and Deliver.