Michael Douglas: On The Road To Recovery

No hope; saying goodbye; three months to live!

Those were the dire headlines with photos of Michael Douglas looking thin and frail.

In essence, the tabloids have already written his obituary.

?I’ve been in the business, and we’re used to the tabloids and the exploitations and everything,? said Joel Douglas in a sit-down interview with News Channel 3. ?I was getting very frustrated because of my brother’s illness.”

In August, doctors diagnosed Douglas with stage-four throat cancer.

Since then, he’s been in what many call ?the fight of his life,” undergoing eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.

“When I first saw him, I was really terrified,” Joel said. “[He was in] a lot of pain in the throat swallowing.”

Joel said the treatment took its toll on Michael?s body making it easy to assume the worst.

“It’s difficult sometimes to separate the treatment from the disease.”

It didn’t take long for bad news to spread.

“People constantly come up to me like he’s already died because basically what you’ve been reading in the tabloids,” Douglas said.

But it really hit home when Joel said he saw how the headlines affected his nephew, Michael’s youngest son Dylan.

“I saw him. He was sitting in a corner, and he was on the floor. He was reading one of these tabloids with the front page saying, ‘Michael Douglas, 3 Months To Live.’ I grabbed it and said, ‘What are you doing reading this junk for?’ But, it has to have an effect no matter how much we explain.”

The truth is, Joel said, his brother improved as time passed during treatment.

“He was getting better and better. His strength was coming back,? he said. ?He’d still get tired and need to relax, but he started to eat more and generally feel stronger, which was a great relief. His indomitable spirit was still coming through.”

This is the story Joel said he would like the see on the front page of the tabloids.

“I realize everybody has to make a living and the tabloids as well. It does sadden me, though, that they can’t report some of the good aspects going on with his recovery.

?I want to say ?Give him a break.? You have families, need to make a living. You know what we’re talking about.

?There are lines,? Douglas said. ?I think you’ve [tabloids] pushed the envelope pretty far out there, and I think particularly in the state the country is in today, it does us much better to be focusing on the positive aspects of life and country and people than on the negative. So, let’s just give it a break.”

Joel Douglas said it?s safe to say his brother is on the road to recovery.

“Oh, yeah. He’s on his way to Hawaii for Christmas, and you may even see him in this area soon.”