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Edward James Olmos has revealed that he underwent chemotherapy and radiation amidst a battle with throat cancer.

The 76-year-old actor appeared Friday on the Mando & Friends podcast, where he opened up for the first time about the heath scare.

The veteran actor, who plays JD Pardo on the TV series Mayans M.C., said that doctors told him that they were not clear on how treatment would impact his ability to speak.

‘This would be the first time publicly I’ll be coming out and saying it, but I had throat cancer,’ the Battlestar Galactica actor said. ‘I just finished getting through it. December 20 was my last radiation.’

Olmos said that the week prior to the radiation treatment, he had wrapped up his chemotherapy and for ‘months and months’ was doing both as it attacked his throat.

The latest: Edward James Olmos, 76, revealed that he underwent chemotherapy and radiation amidst a battle with throat cancer, while appearing Friday on the Mando & Friends podcast

The latest: Edward James Olmos, 76, revealed that he underwent chemotherapy and radiation amidst a battle with throat cancer, while appearing Friday on the Mando & Friends podcast

Pointing to his throat, he said, ‘I still have right here a bump where my lymph nodes, they burned them out because they shot this area with radiation.’

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

‘The doctors would say – I had five doctors – the doctors would say right before I started, “There’s only one thing we have to tell you: We do not know what you’re gonna sound like.” I said, “What?”‘ Olmos said.

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

He continued, ‘And it becomes the hardest place to shoot, to use radiation and chemo,’ adding, ‘A lot of my friends have passed because of this – it’s a very strong disease.’

Olmos said that the health battle ‘took a lot’ out of him, as he dropped 55 pounds and lost all muscle tone. 

He said that in the past four months, he was been working on exercises to rebuild his strength via swimming and rowing.

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

The veteran actor, who plays JD Pardo on the TV series Mayans M.C., told Mando Fresko that doctors told him that they were not clear on how treatment would impact his ability to speak

The veteran actor, who plays JD Pardo on the TV series Mayans M.C., told Mando Fresko that doctors told him that they were not clear on how treatment would impact his ability to speak 

The Oscar-nominated actor said, 'This would be the first time publicly I'll be coming out and saying it, but I had throat cancer'

The Oscar-nominated actor said, ‘This would be the first time publicly I’ll be coming out and saying it, but I had throat cancer’

Pointing to his throat, he said, 'I still have right here a bump where my lymph nodes, they burned them out because they shot this area with radiation'

Pointing to his throat, he said, ‘I still have right here a bump where my lymph nodes, they burned them out because they shot this area with radiation’

Olmos said that the week prior to the radiation treatment, he had wrapped up his chemotherapy and for 'months and months' was doing both as it attacked his throat

Olmos said that the week prior to the radiation treatment, he had wrapped up his chemotherapy and for ‘months and months’ was doing both as it attacked his throat 

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

He spoke about the tough times amid his battle against the disease.

‘There were times in the months that I was undergoing the treatments that the body gives up,’ Olmos said. ‘And I didn’t want to take my food through my stomach.’

Olmos explained the treatments he underwent amid the adverse circumstances.

‘They wanted to put tubes in and feed 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 feted actor said that he was administered ‘intravenous water’ as he was unable to swallow at the time.

The Los Angeles-born actor explained how the course of events gave him a new perspective on living.

‘It was an experience that changed me, the understanding of how wonderful this life is,’ Olmos said. ‘I’ve been through some experiences that have gotten me close to death, but that was close.’

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This post first appeared on Daily mail