Val Kilmer has found a new lease of life after his cancer diagnosis.
Val Kilmer
The 61-year-old actor is still recovering after being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 following two years of health issues, but his children – Jack, 26, and Mercedes, 29 – have said their dad now has more “energy” than ever.
Jack said: "My dad's been crazy prolific since he was diagnosed with cancer, sometimes against his better judgment.
"He's a guy who wants to go out there and just be the best that he can be and he doesn't have time to think about how vulnerable he is because he's thinking about the next smash-box-office hit. He has crazy energy. He can't be stopped."
And Mercedes added Val’s prognosis “did not look very good” when he was first diagnosed, but insisted his resilience has been “very inspiring”.
She explained in a joint interview with People magazine: "When he was first diagnosed, the prognosis did not look very good. But he's always been very physically resilient. The way he's related to his illness has definitely been very inspiring. He has such a sense of humour. Even in the hospital he'd be cracking jokes and making all of the doctors laugh. But, of course, it's really difficult to go through that with a parent and also to go through it with someone in the public eye.
“At his best, he's the most intelligent, vocal, super witty, funny and all of the good things about speaking. His worst is he loves a good argument. [The damage to his voice] really profoundly altered how he's had to communicate, but he's so smart that he finds ways to communicate outside of it."
Meanwhile, Val recently opened up on his journey after a tracheostomy which caused permanent damage to his speaking voice.
He said: "Now that it's more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever.
"I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel.
"I can't speak without plugging this hole [in his throat]. You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat."
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