emery university. she's followed the actor's case very closely when michael douglas underwent chemotherapy and radiation >> as far as i know, yes. i'm not his treating physician but it's not unusual to have scans and so far he is cancer-free. >> he had been seeing a doctor for six months and worried about his throat and they thought maybe had he strained his vocal cords or whatever you. if something like this happens, what should you do? but listen to what michael douglas said about it. >> the reality is, with all the doctors that i have here in new york, if i had been checked back in january for head and neck cancer, this could have all happened a lot early. and the thing with cancer is, you want to get it as early as you can. >> so, doctor, how do you miss that? is it common to miss something like that? >> well, i think some of his symptoms that he described are very nonspecific. all of us can get a sore throat, get some difficulty swallowing. the problem is when the symptoms don't go away, signs don't go away, attention needs to be addressed and further examination needs to be done. i'm not familiar