Actor and true cowboy, Barry Corbin recently opened up about his battle with oral cancer.
Corbin is an American actor best known for his role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series Northern Exposure. Corbin has earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his role in Northern Exposure. Corbin has most recently starred as Four Sixes Ranch cowboy Ross on the hit series Yellowstone.
Corbin,82, and his wife reside on a ranch in Fort Worth, Texas. Corbin said that when he isn’t working, he rides horses there every chance he can get.
Corbin discussed his ordeal with People saying, “There was a spot in the inside of my cheek that didn’t go away. It came back that it was cancer.”
“I already knew what it was,” he continued. “I hadn’t discussed it with anybody, but I knew.”
“I didn’t realize how much it would knock me out. I was sleeping 12 to 14 hours a day,” Corbin admitted. “It was a little difficult, but we got it done.”
Corbin also revealed his fear that due to his diagnosis, he could have lost voice and that he would be written out of Yellowstone.
“They told me there was a possibility my vocal cords would be impacted and that would cause a big disruption in my business,” Corbin said.
As reported in People,
While most people are familiar with squamous cell carcinoma as a skin cancer, Corbin’s Dr. Jonathan Jelmini says this is an entirely different beast.” It’s much more aggressive when it’s involved in the mouth,” says Jelmini. “And there are a lot of nerves that run through the tongue around where things need to be removed.”
After surgery, Corbin quickly returned to set and continues to recover.
