Last September we learned that Stanley Tucci had beaten cancer. His fight began three years ago after finding a tumor under his tongue. By the time they found the tumor, it was too big to remove, leading to a grueling treatment of radiation that barely allowed him to show up for his family. Now, cancer-free and happy to have that’s whole ordeal behind him, Stanley is shedding a little more light on his cancer-battle. Promoting his series Searching for Italy, he said he lived with acute pain in his jaw before his cancer was accurately diagnosed. And if the intense pain wasn’t bad enough, it made took away from one of his great loves: eating.
Stanley Tucci credits wife Felicity Blunt’s support as what helped him through one of the toughest times in his life.
In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, Tucci says that he counts himself “incredibly lucky” to be alive today.
The Oscar nominee was diagnosed with cancer at the base of his tongue back in 2017. He went through a 35-day radiation treatment plus seven sessions of chemotherapy, which ravaged his senses of taste and smell and left him unable to eat, dependent on a feeding tube.
Now, Tucci, 61, is cancer-free and living in London with his wife of 10 years Felicity (who is older sister to actress Emily Blunt) and enjoying his passion for cuisine on his CNN food and travel series Searching for Italy, back for season 2 this spring.
Tucci spent two years living with extreme pain in his jaw before his condition was accurately diagnosed.
“I had a scan, but the scan missed it. And of course, when you think that there might be something wrong, you’re also afraid that there is something wrong,” recalls Tucci, who lost his first wife Kate to breast cancer in 2009.
After seeing different doctors, The Devil Wears Prada actor was eventually correctly diagnosed as having a 3-centimeter tumor at the base of his tongue: “They couldn’t do surgery because the tumor was so big. It’s a miracle that it didn’t metastasize. It had been in me so long.”
When I first read Stanley’s story, I was under the impression that it was just something that he’d ignored. I didn’t realize this was the fault on the medical side. This could have killed Stanley. I get the scan missed the tumor, sometimes it’s a fluke. But if he was in excruciating pain for two years, that needed investigation. It’s possible Stanley didn’t push further because he said, “of course, when you think that there might be something wrong, you’re also afraid that there is something wrong.” But since the article pointed out that it was only after Stanley changed doctors that they found the issue, I’m inclined to think the doctor was the problem.
There’s another reason I wanted to talk about this. We constantly stress the importance of raising awareness for things on this blog. I’m the worst when it comes to seeking out a doctor. I’m not proud of that, I recognize it’s stupid of me. When I wrote the post about Stanley, I’d been dealing with some issue with my tongue. Normally I wouldn’t do anything but after working on that post, I saw an ENT and guess what – I had my tongue scraped of pre-cancerous cells. Now all three of my doctors are working together to figure out where they came from. It’s probably benign, but my GP said I absolutely avoided an issue down the road. All because Stanley and Michael Douglas told their harrowing stories. So if you hear something that sounds familiar, act on it.
Photo credit: Matt Holyoak/People
My mom has been having trouble in the jaw/tongue/mouth area for a while now. She was diagnosed with TMJ but those treatments haven’t worked. I’m going to tell her to immediately get a scan (or two!) to see if there’s anything there.
Thanks for posting this!
If you ever do get a CT scan for a head and neck problem like this, make sure you ask to have someone trained specifically in reading head and neck imaging to read it. That meant either an ENT surgeon or a radiologist with advanced training in head and neck imaging. Tumours in the jaw, tongue, throat and frequently missed by radiologists because the signs on imaging are so subtle. I’m a surgeon and my ENT friends are always telling me about scans that are read by even really good radiologists who miss these findings. If you get a CT scan, get it copied to a CD and take the image (not just the written results) personally to the ENT doctor to look at for themselves.
Wow, I would have NEVER thought of this. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely, possibly, live-saving knowledge. Thank you!
Hecate, I’m glad you saw a doctor. There is such a fine line for women between having an illness and having someone accuse you of being a hypochondriac. Good thing you were taken seriously. It’s always good when someone famous brings awareness that can help people. I had a nasty head first fall into the doorjamb of a closet and went for a CAT scan following Natasha Richardson’s death. Turned out to be nothing, but I’m glad I went.
Wow, I didn’t know that Stanley Tucci had cancer. I’ve been enjoying watching his show. I’m so glad that it’s available on BBC. I hope he stays fit and well.
We have a family friend, close friends of my partner’s parents and he was diagnosed late last year with mouth cancer. I’m not even sure how it led to be diagnosed but I’m glad it was seen. He is relatively fit for his age (around 60), runs marathons, doesn’t smoke. He had to have a few teeth removed that had fillings, then had to get fitted for a special helmet to be used for the radiation treatment and then chemo. He was in so much pain when some of his teeth had to be removed and reported that his taste buds have altered so much from the radiation treatment that everything tastes metallic so he can’t really enjoy drinking and eating. He’s got a feeding tube. I hope he pulls through this. He has to go on his own at the cancer hospital because of covid-19 rules so that adds another layer to the challenges he is facing.
I had a very good friend who suffered with jaw pain also she went to so many dentist then medical doctors and specialist affiliated with top hospitals she left with no explanation and was actually referred to a psychiatrist. It finally got so bad her family had her return to Japan to help her and she was diagnosed with cancer in her in her spinal fluid and passed away far to young.
I hope everyone takes jaw pain seriously especially if the treatments they give you don’t help.
I hope Stanley has a full recovery and a long happy life, cancer just sucks.
I wonder if one of the challenges of this, at least in the US, is how health care is siloed. If you have pain in your mouth, jaw … do you go to the dentist? Do you go to your PCP?
Do you ask for a referral to an ENT even though it’s not in your ears, nose or throat? A physical therapist, TMJ specialist? The PCP or dentist is going to see things through their own lens … maybe telling you it’s “just stress” or giving you a nighttime mouth guard, but what if it’s not … are either one of them aware enough to escalate when it’s one of those in between insurance, diagnostic areas?
I Googled and it looks like risks for mouth cancer lesions include smoking, drinking a lot and bulimia. So scary!
This is a great reminder!
If you begin to have unexplained consistent pain ANYWHERE- please go get it checked and advocate for yourself!
Cancer warning signs;
– unexplainable pain
-pain at night
-unexplainable weight loss
– change in bowel/bladder and digestive functions
-undiagnosed lumps and bumps
This is a great reminder to advocate for yourself. I hope everything comes back fine, Hecate!!
If you are tired all the time get checked for anemia. If you have anemia don’t let the doctors dismiss it as caused by heavy bleeding if you are a menstrual age female. Ask them how much bleeding is heavy enough to cause anemia and check their answer against your actual level of bleeding. Or ask an ob gyn. Don’t let them assume. There are other causes for anemia and some of them are scary.
This article is an excellent PSA. In addition to what people said above, I wanted to lament that insurance limitations and inability to get a doctor can be a horrible thing. Some insurance won’t let you see a specialist until a primary care doctor refers you, and sometimes it’s hard to get a primary care doctor to take you on as a patient. This isn’t a problem for people who can pay for whatever care they need out-of-pocket. But it disproportionately affects poorer people (which disproportionately are minorities) and is one of the reasons we need national health care. Thanks for letting me rant.
I found something on my lower back late last year that I thought was dead skin/small scab, picked it off and it HURT. Then came back. I was in two minds about whether to see a doctor or just measure/photograph and wait. I was also very conscious of the crazy pressures on the nhs at the moment. Then I decided to do a virtual consultation where you upload info, pics etc. From that I was asked to come in for a face to face appointment. The good news is that it’s not cancerous (bad news, it’s an age related wart, of course it is) but the doctor was adamant that she would far rather be spending time having this conversation than be telling me I should have come in sooner.
My mother died two years ago from tongue cancer that spread. Due to dementia and her physical health she was not able to do chemotherapy and radiation. I am so glad for Stanley and his family that he was able to beat this back. It is not a good way to go.
Has anyone heard of a CBCT scan, and would this newer technology be able to catch this kind of issue better than traditional x-rays and physical examinations?