Val Kilmer appears to confirm cancer battle

Val Kilmer has appeared to confirm he had cancer after previously denying he had the illness.

Actor Val Kilmer. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

The Hollywood actor, 57, took part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) and was asked about his friend Michael Douglas’s claim that he was unwell.

Last year Douglas, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2010 and was given the all-clear the following year, said Kilmer was “dealing with exactly what I had”.

During the AMA, a fan asked about “the story behind that” and Kilmer replied: “He was probably trying to help me cause press probably asked where I was these days, and I did have a healing of cancer, but my tongue is still swollen altho healing all the time.

“Because I don’t sound my normal self yet people think I may still be under the weather.”

In November, Kilmer assured fans in a lengthy Facebook post that he was not suffering from cancer.

“I love Michael Douglas but he is misinformed,” he wrote.

“The last time I spoke to him was almost two years ago, when I asked him for a referral for a specialist to get a diagnosis for a lump in my throat, which prevented me from continuing a tour of my play Citizen Twain.

“I ended up using a team at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and have no cancer whatsoever. I still have a swollen tongue and am rehabbing steadily.”

He added: “I hope this puts to rest any further concerns about my health by publications that have no respect for the truth.

“Whatever led Michael Douglas to speculate about my health, he’s a loving and devoted friend to a privileged group of talented people around the world, and I’m sure he meant no harm.”

Kilmer and Douglas worked together on the 1996 film The Ghost And The Darkness.