Val Kilmer is fighting oral cancer, Michael Douglas says

'That’s why you haven’t heard too much from Val lately'

23rd Annual Simply Shakespeare benefit reading, Los Angeles, America (Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock)

Val Kilmer is battling oral cancer, his good friend and fellow actor Michael Douglas announced over the weekend.

Variety reports that the 72-year-old actor was speaking at a London event celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 1996 film, The Ghost and the Darkness, that he starred in with Kilmer.

“The picture didn’t turn out as well as I hoped but I had a wonderful time,” Douglas told the audience. “Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had, and things don’t look too good for him.”

Back in 2010, Douglas was diagnosed with stage four oral cancer before he was determined cancer-free the following year.

“My prayers are with him,” he continued. “That’s why you haven’t heard too much from Val lately.”

Rumors of Kilmer's health declining first surfaced in January of 2015 when he was reportedly hospitalized due to bleeding from his throat. In October of last year, rumors again swirled that doctors reportedly discovered a tumor in the 56-year-old actor's throat at the UCLA Medical Center.

“Thank you all for your love and support,” Kilmer then wrote on Facebook. “There’s a rumor I’m unwell again and in hospital which is totally untrue. I was in to verify I have no tumor or infection of any kind which was verified by the very caring experts at UCLA.”

On Monday, Kilmer appeared to vaguely reference his friend’s announcement by quoting Mark Twain on social media.

“The recent news of my death has been greatly exaggerated,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “And his values and spirit live on even now! And I’m sure still standing! Yippee!”