These weren’t the Hunger Games Stanley Tucci was shooting for.
The actor, 60, is known almost as much for his love of food as his fine acting ("The Devil Wears Prada," "The Hunger Games").
His CNN show, “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” of course involves an immersion into the amazing food of that country. And he has a new book out about his grub love, “Taste: My Life Through Food,” a semi-memoir sprinkled with some cooking tips.
So imagine the trauma he experienced three years ago when he was battling cancer, and he discovered he was losing his appetite and sense of taste.
Related
A tumor was discovered at the base of his tongue. As he told Good Morning America, "I couldn't do surgery, the tumor was too long," he explained, "but luckily it had not metastasized, so high-dose radiation and chemotherapy are the only things that can help, and luckily the cure rate was very high."
"I was unable to eat solid food for six months," Tucci recalled, "I lost 30 pounds and my taste buds and saliva glands were destroyed, as was the inside of my mouth, and it's taken really three years to get back to almost normal… It was hard because I could taste everything, but I couldn't necessarily swallow.”
One way he got through the experience was binge-watching food shows. Though he admits that was an odd choice, "because even the smell of food then would just make me want to throw up."
The good news is Tucci is now in remission, and his cancer is unlikely to return.
Despite the harrowing and tasteless cancer battle, he states, "It's a small price to pay for being alive and being able to enjoy the company of my family."
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram