Stanley Tucci is opening up about his personal battle with cancer and how the fight he endured took him back to experiencing a battle with cancer as a caregiver, too.
Tucci’s late wife, Kate, was also diagnosed with cancer almost a decade before Tucci’s diagnosis, and in 2009 her battle with the disease ended, and Tucci saw the turmoil she endured after rounds and rounds of treatment. As Tucci was no stranger to cancer, he knew what a lengthy battle he’d soon be up against, and he also knew the ins and outs of treatment.
Deadline reports that Tucci explained to Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown that it was a lengthy process to try to find a cure for his wife, and when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, it was a horrifying process.
“My late wife and I, we traveled all over the world trying to find a cure for her. So when I got it, I was completely shocked. I was terrified, absolutely terrified.”
In fact, in a 2021 interview with Vera — Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight magazine, he said that he promised himself he’d never put his body through that kind of treatment regimen. It wasn’t because he anticipated getting cancer, nor that he didn’t want to survive if it were to happen — but he couldn’t fathom going through the things his wife experienced.
“I’d vowed I’d never do anything like that because my first wife died of cancer, and to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible.”
For Tucci, his own battle with cancer was an uphill battle, too— he said he lost an alarming amount of weight and couldn’t eat, making it hard to garner enough strength for normal daily activities. Tucci called his treatments awful, and anyone who knows someone who has battled cancer or who has been diagnosed themselves knows that the options for finding a cure for the disease are often painful and life-altering.
“I lost 35 pounds. I couldn’t eat. I had a feeding tube for six months and everything tasted like you know what and smelled like you know what. And it took months and months and months for me to finally be able to eat again and then taste properly again.”
Food is something very close to Tucci’s heart. In his memoir — published in 2021 — he said a worry for him was never being able “to cook and enjoy a meal again.” Tucci now says that after coming out of the cancer battle and being on the other side of it, he has a heightened desire for food and life, for experiences, and taste. He shared the following statement with the hosts of The View earlier this week.
“I realized that the most important thing to me was food, and through food — that’s the way I connect with people. You know; food and drink and sitting around the table.”
Tucci is years removed from his cancer battle and often pairs his adoration for life with a drink or food dish. Having oral cancer could have taken so much from him, and instead of living in the past or wondering what if, he has leaped forward into new experiences, life lessons, and meals with friends and loved ones as often as possible.
He also credits his wife’s help with giving him the strength and love to help him through his battle, calling her “incredible” and saying that she helped him maintain a drive to move forward and get past cancer and the treatments.
Tucci’s cancer battle was a topic of conversation during recent press for a new series he’s in – starring alongside Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra, Ashleigh Cummings, and Leslie Manville. Citadel follows two spies from a global agency as they come to terms with their memories being erased and another agency daring to try to reign in their place. It’s a six-episode series, with the first two streaming now.
You can see Tucci’s new series on Prime Video now, and you can keep up with all of his adventures in cooking, life, and magic by following him on Instagram. His posts will undeniably leave you feeling your own enhanced zest for life and a deeper appreciation of the moments we might see as mundane or routine – and how lucky we are to keep living them.