Moshe Kasher, the actor known for “The Pitt,” shared that he underwent a five-hour surgery after being diagnosed with early-stage tonsil cancer caused by HPV. In a June 21 Instagram post, he described the operation and recovery timeline, while broader public h
When Moshe Kasher said he found “a bump on my tonsil,” he wasn’t talking about a routine health scare. In a June 21 Instagram post. the 47-year-old comedian and “The Pitt” actor described three months of mounting fear after the discovery while filming “The Comeback King” with director Judd Apatow in Savannah. Georgia.
What followed was a diagnosis he called his “worst nightmare.” He said he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer caused by HPV (human papillomavirus) and that it was early-stage cancer, or Stage 1.
On June 19, Kasher said he underwent a five-hour surgery. He wrote that the procedure “yanked my jaw open,” cut out cancerous areas, and then “slit my throat and dissected my neck.” He also said he was left with “a hardcore neck scar” and a “swollen and bruised mouth.”
“The most terrifying and consciousness consuming experience of my life,” he wrote, describing “terror, meditation, tears, and medical planning” alongside “12 hour days on set pitching jokes.”
Kasher said he is in pain and expects a difficult summer. He wrote: “I’m in pain and I’m in the middle of a very difficult process. It’s gonna be a long summer.” He added that the cancer he has has an “incredibly high cure rate” in the “95% zone.” He said he will find out next week if he needs radiation. but that “regardless I will be okay and back to being a cool dude ASAP.”.
He also tied his fear to family history. Kasher said the diagnosis was his “worst nightmare” because his dad died of “a completely different cancer that’s … less curable than this one,” which he said had been found on his neck.
Even as the medical timeline tightened, Kasher kept moving in the weeks before surgery. He and his wife, Natasha Leggero, recorded an episode for “The Endless Honeymoon Podcast” before leaving for Kasher’s surgery. In the 43-minute sit-down. he detailed discovering the abnormality in his tonsil and how that led to a biopsy confirming the diagnosis.
“I am sick; I don’t feel sick. My body feels great,” he said in the episode. He called the experience a “reality-altering nightmare,” while also saying it became “enlightening” and “a profound time of self-reflection and fear, processing and meditation.”
Kasher vowed to “get better.” He added: “I’m going to be OK. The road to OK is going to be long and pretty arduous.” He also said he was grateful to have “a life that’s worth living and a kid to raise this Father’s Day.”
The public health backdrop to his story is HPV—an issue that reaches far beyond any single diagnosis. HPV is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. with nearly everyone expected to get it at some point. The CDC says more than 42 million people in the United States are infected with HPV. which is spread “through intimate skin-to-skin contact. ” including vaginal. anal. or oral sex with someone who has the virus.
Most HPV infections clear within two years for nine out of 10 patients. but some last longer and can lead to cancer. The CDC says it usually takes years for an HPV infection to develop into cancer of the oropharynx. which includes the back of the throat. the base of the tongue and tonsils. Oropharyngeal cancer may be asymptomatic. or it could cause “a long-lasting sore throat. earaches. hoarseness. swollen lymph nodes. pain when swallowing. and unexplained weight loss.”.
The HPV vaccine, according to the CDC, protects against the types of HPV that can cause oropharyngeal cancers, and the oldest age someone is eligible to receive the vaccine is 45.
A 2022 article in the Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy journal predicted oropharyngeal cancer would be among the most common cancers in men by 2045.
Kasher’s story brings those statistics into focus: a routine finding—“a bump on my tonsil”—ended in a Stage 1 diagnosis tied to HPV. followed by a five-hour surgery that left visible marks and a recovery that he says will be long. He is now waiting on the next step. with his next-week decision point over whether radiation is needed. while insisting he will “be OK” and return to life as he described it: “a cool dude ASAP.”.
Moshe Kasher The Pitt HPV tonsil cancer oropharyngeal cancer surgery Judd Apatow Natasha Leggero Endless Honeymoon Podcast Centers for Disease Control and Prevention radiation