Actor Stanley Tucci has spoken out about the treatment he received for a tumor at the base of his tongue. In an interview with Vera Magazine, Tucci revealed that he was diagnosed three years ago with tongue cancer and is now in remission. Since the mass was too big to operate, his only choice was high-dose radiation and chemotherapy.

Fortunately, all looks good at the moment, and, speaking with Vera, Tucci touched wood with both hands as he expressed that the cancer is not likely to return.

“[Cancer] makes you more afraid and less afraid at the same time. I feel much older than I did before I was sick. But you still want to get ahead and get things done,” he expressed. Discussing his treatment, he shared, “I’d vowed I’d never do anything like that, because my first wife died of cancer, and to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible. The kids were great, but it was hard for them.

I had a feeding tube for six months.

I could barely make it to the twins’ highschool graduation.”

Tucci’s first wife, Kate Spath-Tucci, died of breast cancer in 2009 at age 47. She is survived by their three children, twins Nicolo and Isabel, both 21, and Camilla, 19. In 2012, Tucci married Felicity Blunt, sister of his The Devil Wears Prada costar Emily Blunt, and they have two children, Matteo Oliver, 6, and Emilia Giovanna, 3.

Tucci made his screen debut in 1985 in Prizzi’s Honor and has well over 100 acting credits to his name, including an Oscar nomination for The Lovely Bones, and recent performances in Supernova, Jolt (our review), Worth, and as a voice for the animated series Central Park. He made his directorial debut with Big Night in 1996 and most recently hosted CNN’s Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.