Michael Douglas says tumour is gone

Douglas told host Matt Lauer he had lost a lot of muscle mass during treatment

Film star Michael Douglas, who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year, says his tumour is gone and he is beating the disease.

In an interview with NBC morning show Today, Douglas said: "I feel good, relieved. The tumour is gone."

He added: "I think the odds are, with the tumour gone and what I know about this particular type of cancer, that I've got it beat."

Douglas, 66, said he still had to be monitored on a monthly basis.

"I guess there's not a total euphoria. I'll probably take a couple of months of getting checked out but it's been a wild six-month ride," Douglas said in the recorded interview which will be aired in full on 23 January.

Douglas told Today co-host Matt Lauer he had been "eating like a pig" since he finished his radiation treatment and had been working out at the gym.

The Oscar-winning actor said he had lost 32lbs during his cancer treatment but had since put 12lbs back on.

Oscar winner

Douglas, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones, revealed in August 2010 that he had advanced "stage four cancer".

Fellow Hollywood star Harrison Ford, appearing at a film premiere in London on Tuesday, welcomed the news of recovery.

"I'm so glad to hear the news. I'm very happy for him because he's a great guy," Ford said.

Douglas was last seen on the big screen in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in the autumn.

The actor, the son of film legend Kirk Douglas, won an Oscar for his role as ruthless stockbroker Gordon Gekko in the original Wall Street film.

He and his wife have two children, Dylan, 10 and Carys, 7, and Douglas has another son Cameron, 32, from his first marriage.