Edward James Olmos reveals he had battled throat cancer and ‘it was an experience that changed’ him

Edward James Olmos has revealed he has undergone chemotherapy and radiation amid a battle with throat cancer.

The 76-year-old actor appeared on the Friday Mando & Friends podcast, where he first spoke out about the heather fear.

The veteran actor, who plays JD Pardo in the TV series Mayans MC, said doctors told him they were not clear about how the treatment would affect his ability to speak.

“This would be the first time I’m going out in public and saying it, but I had throat cancer,” said the Battlestar Galactica actor. ‘I just got through it. December 20 was my last radiation.’

Olmos said he finished his chemotherapy the week prior to radiation treatment and spent “months and months” doing both as it attacked his throat.

He pointed to his throat and said, “I still have a bump here where my lymph nodes are, they burned them out because they irradiated this area with radiation.”

Olmos, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Jaime Escalante in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, explained how his group of doctors explained to him the unknown factors in cancer treatment.

“The doctors would say — I had five doctors — the doctors said right before I started, ‘There’s only one thing we need to tell you, we don’t know what you’re going to sound like.’ I said, “What?” said Olmos.

Olmos said doctors told him, “We shoot at your vocal cords, we shoot at your throat; where you eat, where you swallow, where you talk, where you breathe, everything goes through here. So we shoot it.’

He continued, “And it’s going to be the hardest place to shoot, to use radiation and chemo,” adding, “A lot of my friends have died because of this — it’s a very serious disease.”

Olmos said the health battle “took a lot out of him” as he lost 25 pounds and lost all muscle tone.

He said he had spent the past four months exercising to regain strength through swimming and rowing.

“I swim at least a mile a day, sometimes two miles a day. Every day, seven days a week, and then I row and do weights.”

The veteran actor, who plays JD Pardo in the TV series Mayans MC, told Mando Fresko that doctors told him they were not clear about how the treatment would affect his ability to speak.

The Oscar-nominated actor said: ‘This would be the first time I’m going to come out in public and say it, but I had throat cancer’

He pointed to his throat and said, “I still have a bump here where my lymph nodes are, they burned them out because they irradiated this area”

Olmos said he completed his chemotherapy the week prior to radiation treatment and did “months and months” of both because it attacked his throat

Olmos was applauded by the host and his crew amid his resilience story.

He talked about the difficult times in his fight against the disease.

“There were times in the months I was undergoing the treatments when the body gave out,” Olmos said. “And I didn’t want to put my food through my stomach.”

Olmos explained the treatments he underwent under the adverse conditions.

“They wanted to put tubes in and give me nutrients because I couldn’t swallow,” he said. “They had to get 2,500 calories into my body every day. That was ridiculous, that was so hard.’

The celebrated actor said he was given “intravenous water” because he was unable to swallow at the time.

The Los Angeles-born actor explained how the turn of events gave him a new outlook on life.

“It was an experience that changed me, the understanding of how wonderful this life is,” Olmos said. “I’ve had some experiences that have brought me close to death, but it was close.”