The 'Castaway' actor reveals his diabetes diagnosis as he appears on 'Late Show with David Letterman', adding on Twitter that the disease can be managed 'with good habits.'
- Oct 9, 2013
AceShowbiz - Tom Hanks, who has been battling high blood sugar numbers for years, recently revealed that he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The "Captain Phillips" actor talked about the diagnosis as he appeared on "Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday, October 7.
"I went to the doctor and he said, 'You know those high-blood-sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated. You've got Type 2 diabetes, young man,' " the Oscar-winning actor said on the show. He added, "It's controllable. ... Something's going to kill us all, Dave."
Hanks' doctor told him that he could defeat the disease if he returned to his weigh in high school. Hanks, however, felt that it would be impossible. "I weighed 96 pounds in high school. I was a very skinny boy. And you know, most of that was that big white Afro that I wore back in the '70s," the 57-year-old actor said.
Following the revelation, Hanks took to Twitter to assure fans that the disease is manageable. "Yep, I have #2 diabetes. Type 1 is VERY SERIOUS! Type 2 I can manage with good habits. I shall! Hanx," he wrote the next day.
Hanks' upcoming flick "Captain Phillips" will hit U.S. theaters on October 11. He plays Captain Richard Phillips whose vessel is hijacked by Somalian pirates.
