Michael Douglas jokes about children’s reaction to his throat cancer

“They’re happy I can’t talk that much,” Douglas jokes. The actor was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer three weeks ago.

Douglas said he has taken Dylan, 10, and Carys, 7, to hospital so they could see the treatment he is receiving.

“I’ve taken them down to the hospital and shown them the whole radiology thing, They’ve actually watched me get zapped,” Douglas said.

He admits that, together with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, they were straight from the beginning honest with their children because they did not want them to deal with whispers at school or confrontation from strangers about their famous father.

Douglas has been given an 80 per cent chance of recovery. “I like my odds. I’m not dealing with mortality issues until they tell me, ‘oops, we have to go back and do surgery’ or something like that,” he said, adding with a smile: “I haven’t found God yet.”