Moshi Kasher, comedian and actor best known for playing Jacob Samuel in HBO’s medical drama The Pitt, recently opened up in an Instagram post about his tonsil cancer, a battle that silently unfolded.
The 46-year-old first noticed something was off while he was in Savannah, Georgia, working on a film project connected to Judd Apatow and Glen Powell, he said in a post on Father’s Day (June 21).
What started as a small bump on the throated, escalated to multiple examinations by doctors who looked at it closely and confirmed cancer diagnosis, forcing him to undergo surgery on June 19 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, he explained. They surgery lasted for five hours.
“I am sick; I don’t feel sick. My body feels great,” he said. “It has been a really reality-altering nightmare. But also, very enlightening and a profound time of self-reflection and fear, processing and meditation. I’m going to be OK. The road to OK is going to be long and pretty arduous.”
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He described the diagnosis and surgery the “worst nightmare” since his dad passed away due to a less curable cancer, that was found on his neck.
He also revealed that he now has a “hardcore neck scar which will make people reluctant to street fight me.” He also shared grueling details of his surgery, highlighting how his “tongue was clamped and yanked out of my mouth and is so swollen and bruised.” He added that a doctor’s visit next week will make it clear if he requires radiotherapy.
More About HVP Positive Tonsil Cancer
HPV is most common sexually transmitted disease in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is spread “through intimate skin-to-skin contact,” including vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus.
It usually takes years for HPV to lead to cancer of the oropharynx, which includes the back of the throat, the base of the tongue and tonsils, the CDC says. It could be asymptomatic or comes with symptoms like a long-lasting sore throat, hoarseness, swollen lymph nodes, pain when swallowing, and unexplained weight loss.
The HPV vaccine “protects against the types of HPV that can cause oropharyngeal cancers.”