(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Michael Douglas could lose his voice after undergoing treatment for throat cancer, doctors have warned.

The 65-year-old Hollywood legend announced he had been diagnosed with the disease earlier this week after medical staff discovered tumours in his throat.

The growths were detected early and Michael is expected to make a full recovery. He has said he is “very optimistic” about his outlook and he may begin treatment as early as this week in New York.

He will undergo eight weeks of intensive radiation and chemotherapy, and doctors hope they will not have to conduct any surgery on the larynx – which may affect Michael’s ability to speak. A partial or complete laryngectomy could change the sound of the star’s voice or leave him unable to talk at all.

Dr. Kenneth Hu, co-director of the Head And Neck Institute at Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York, claims smoking may have caused the cancer but he remains confident the actor can be treated successfully.

“I think the fact that he's getting radiation means it's curable. It tells you that it's probably an intermediate stage cancer,” Hu said.

It is believed Michael decided to make his illness public because he had to cancel his involvement in promoting his new movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to the 80s film which won him an Oscar playing ruthless businessman Gordon Gekko.

Michael is currently thought to be at his family home in Bermuda with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and their children Dylan, ten, and seven-year-old Carys. (C) Cover Media