Comedian Moshe Kasher Shares “Terrifying” Tonsil Cancer Battle

“I will find out next week if I need radiation or not but regardless I will be OK and back to being a cool dude ASAP,” he wrote, jokingly addeding that the “other bit of good news is that this is the cancer you get from sex.”

“It’s cool that now you know I’ve officially had that,” teased Kasher, who has an 8-year-old daughter with wife Natasha Leggero. “The bad news is HPV positive tonsil cancer is an epidemic in men under 55.”

Emphasizing that Leggero, a fellow stand-up comic, “did not give me this,” Kasher vowed that he “will get better.”

“I’m so grateful I have a life that’s worth living,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back to work, but for now—I breathe, I walk, I eat, I survive, I live.”

Indeed, human papillomavirus (HPV) can be transmitted to the mouth by oral sex and infection can develop into oropharyngeal cancer years after transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A vaccine has been developed to protect against the types of HPV that can cause oropharyngeal cancers.

And for Kasher, he is also grateful to have such a strong support system around him during this difficult time.

“I truly cannot believe I managed to work an entire movie while dealing with this, but Judd could not have been a more kind, supporting and nurturing friend.” he said in his Instagram post, sharing that Leggero—who he wed in 2015—and their friends have also been “so supportive.”

Kasher added, “I woke up on that operation table so flooded with emotions and gratitude for my life and the gift of consciousness.”

For more celebrities who have shared their cancer journeys, read on…