Val Kilmer died on April 1, 2025.MEGA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Val Kilmer<\/a> beat throat cancer, but his battle with the illness left him with limited speaking abilities and a potentially compromised immune system.<\/p>\n More than 10 years after his diagnosis, the Top Gun actor<\/a> died at 65 years old, and according to a doctor, the cancer treatments that saved his life may have actually contributed to his death, RadarOnline.com<\/a> can exclusively reveal.<\/p>\n Val Kilmer contracted pneumonia shortly before his death.MEGA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While Kilmer’s family confirmed that his cause of death<\/a> was pneumonia, Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who was not involved with treating the Hollywood star, explained that “treatments for cancer often suppress your immune system” \u2013 even after recovery \u2013 and can “make a cancer survivor more susceptible” to other illnesses.<\/p>\n “Your body just doesn\u2019t have a great ability to fight back<\/a>,” he continued. “It\u2019s ironic that we can cure cancer \u2014 but we may also kill people by curing it!”<\/p>\n Val Kilmer struggled to speak in his final years.MEGA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His cancer treatments<\/a> included chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a tracheostomy \u2013 which the Mayo Clinic defines as a surgically created hole in the windpipe, otherwise known as a stoma, that is made to help a patient breathe.<\/p>\n However, the surgeries left him with difficulties<\/a> speaking and his voice became “progressively worse” over the years. In 2021, a source revealed that Kilmer spoke with the aid of a voice box and was unable to speak well enough to narrate a documentary detailing his storied life.<\/p>\n A source claimed Val Kilmer ‘losing his voice’ was a ‘hard price to pay.’MEGA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Val really wanted to narrate his documentary, but even he had to agree it was better done by someone else,” the source shared at the time. “He says he\u2019s doing better, but no one really believes that the moment he utters a word \u2014 or tries to.”<\/p>\n “He may have conquered throat cancer<\/a>, but losing his voice has been a hard price to pay,” added the source.<\/p>\n Fans reflected on Val Kilmer’s iconic Hollywood career one year after his passing.MEGA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On the one-year anniversary of Kilmer’s death, fans took to social media to mourn the loss and remember some of his most iconic roles.<\/p>\n One X user wrote, “It’s already been 1 year without Val Kilmer and I’m still just as sad<\/a>,” and another person penned, “Wow, that was fast. Gone way too soon!”<\/p>\n Others called him “one of a kind” and a “true cinema legend” who would be “forever missed” in heartfelt tributes.<\/p>\nVal Kilmer’s Cancer Treatments May Have Damaged His Immune System<\/h2>\n
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Val Kilmer Was Unable to Narrate His Own Documentary<\/h2>\n
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Fans Remember Val Kilmer on 1-Year Death Anniversary<\/h2>\n
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