3 Years Later, a Big Reveal From Stanley Tucci

Actor reveals cancer diagnosis that came nearly a decade after first wife died of breast cancer
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2021 12:00 PM CDT
Stanley Tucci: I Had Cancer 3 Years Ago
In this Feb. 11, 2017, file photo, Stanley Tucci is seen at the 2017 Berlinale film fest in Berlin.   (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Stanley Tucci, who found his way into American households during the pandemic via his Searching for Italy series on CNN, was recently interviewed for an in-flight magazine, and in that chat, he made a startling revelation: He was diagnosed three years ago with cancer, nearly a decade after his first wife had died of the disease, per Yahoo Entertainment. The 60-year-old Devil Wears Prada and Hunger Games actor said the tumor found on the base of his tongue in 2018 was too large to operate on, so instead he had to undergo "high-dose radiation and chemo"—something "I'd vowed I'd never do" after watching Kate Tucci go through similar procedures before her death from breast cancer in 2009.

"To watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible," Tucci tells Virgin Atlantic's Vera magazine, adding that he was afraid what his own illness would mean for his family, which includes his three children with Kate, as well as two children with second wife Felicity Blunt. "The kids were great, but it was hard for them," he says of his treatment. "I had a feeding tube for six months. I could barely make it to the twins' high school graduation."

Tucci, who People reports kept working during his sickness, is now in remission and says he doesn't think the cancer will come back (though Vera notes Tucci made that statement while "touching wood with both hands"). And he has a new outlook on life, though it's not necessarily a simple one. "[Cancer] makes you more afraid and less afraid at the same time," he says. "I feel much older than I did before I was sick. But you still want to get ahead and get things done." Read more from Tucci here, including what's next on his professional agenda. (More Stanley Tucci stories.)

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