Val Kilmer faced agonizing choice between breathing and eating while battling throat cancer

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Val Kilmer opened up about the time he had to make the tough choice between breathing and eating while battling throat cancer in his 2021 biographical documentary 'Val' that was released on Amazon Prime Video, reported The Mirror.

The 'Batman Forever' died on Tuesday, April 1, at the age of 65. His daughter, Mercedes, confirmed his cause of death as pneumonia. 

Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer back in 2014, and following chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, he was declared free from the disease in 2021.

However, the treatments, along with a tracheostomy that he had to undergo, took a toll on his health and left his vocal cords permanently damaged.

Val Kilmer on his cancer struggle

In the documentary, Val Kilmer was candid about the low points during his battle with cancer, stating that it was the time he had to choose between the two primary functions of living beings.

The actor explained his reason for agreeing to the creation of an in-depth documentary on his life, saying in his noticeably changed voice, "Now that it's more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever. I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel. I can't speak without plugging this hole (in his throat, created during the tracheostomy).”

The procedure also left him requiring to be fed through a tube, about which the Iceman from 'Top Gun' said, "You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat. It's an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me."

Kilmer, who was grateful to have survived his fight with cancer, added, "I am blessed… I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed."

'Val' filmmakers on working with the actor

The documentary on Val Kilmer was produced by his children Mercedes and Jack, and directed by filmmakers Leo Scott and Ting Poo. 

Speaking to People following its release, Scott said, "We approached him three years ago. I'd worked with him on his Cinema Twain project, and when he couldn't tour the play Citizen Twain, he was touring a film of the play, so I was working with him on that and some other projects too, archiving his footage."

"He doesn't have the vanity that you would expect from someone of his fame and celebrity," expressed Poo at the time. "There was never any of that kind of artifice or protection that people who are really famous have to put up around themselves. It's humbling to be around that."