Moshe Kasher opens up about 'Terrifying' cancer battle

Moshe Kasher revealed the most painful news regarding his own health. His illness was diagnosed three months ago, when he felt a strange lump in his throat.

On June 21, taking to his Instagram handle, he posted a video featuring the devastating diagnosis. In the video, he stated, “Two days ago, a Jewish surgery robot at Cedars Sinai yanked my jaw open for five hours and cut it out and then slit my throat and dissected my neck, leaving me with a hardcore neck scar which will make people reluctant to street fight me.”

He revealed that he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer three months ago after he discovered a bump in his throat while working with Judd Apatow and Glen Powell on their movie The Comeback King in Georgia. As a result, Kasher recently underwent surgery to remove the mass as part of his treatment.

But on a serious note, the 46-year-old called the medical ordeal “the most terrifying and consciousness-consuming experience of my life.” He continued, “My life has been terror, meditation, tears, and medical planning. I’m in pain and in the middle of a very difficult process. It’s going to be a long summer”.

That’s why the actor, who most recently appeared on the second season of The Pitt as American Sign Language interpreter Samuel Jacob, is keeping his spirits up. As he put it, “The good news is the cancer I have has an incredibly high cure rate.” “I will find out next week if I need radiation or not, but regardless, I will be OK and back to being a cool dude ASAP,” he wrote, jokingly adding that the “other bit of good news is that this is the cancer you get from sex.”

“It’s cool that now you know I’ve officially had that,” teased Kasher, who has an 8-year-old daughter with wife Natasha Leggero. “The bad news is HPV positive tonsil cancer is an epidemic in men under 55.” Emphasizing that Leggero, a fellow stand-up comic, “did not give me this,” Kasher vowed that he “will get better.”

He continued, “I’m so grateful I have a life that’s worth living. I can’t wait to get back to work, but for now I breathe, I walk, I eat, I survive, I live”.

Indeed, human papillomavirus (HPV) can be transmitted to the mouth by oral sex, and infection can develop into oropharyngeal cancer years after transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A vaccine has been developed to protect against the types of HPV that can cause oropharyngeal cancers, and for Kasher, he is also grateful to have such a strong support system around him during this difficult time.

“I truly cannot believe I managed to work an entire movie while dealing with this, but Judd could not have been a more kind, supportive, and nurturing friend,” he said in his Instagram post, sharing that Leggero—who he wed in 2015—and their friends have also been “so supportive.”

Kasher added, “I woke up on that operation table so flooded with emotions and gratitude for my life and the gift of consciousness.” The All My Children alum announced in January 2025 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his third cancer diagnosis throughout his life.

Despite the devastating news, he announced (for the third time) in February 2025 that he was cancer-free following successful surgery and treatments. “Remember, you’re not defined by any of your challenges,” he wrote in his February 2025 Instagram update. “You’re grander than it all. I’m not my fear, my anxiousness, or my scars, but I embrace it all because the only way to transform it is to own it.”