Oscar-winning actress and wife of Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones has questioned why it took doctors so long to find a tumour in her husband's throat.

The actress is said to be "furious" that her husband's tumour went undetected for months even though he was experiencing discomfort.

Mr. Douglas, son of Bermudian actress Diana Dill and actor Kirk Douglas, announced on August 16 that doctors had found a tumour in his throat and that he would undergo radiation and chemotherapy.

He is receiving cancer treatment in New York while his family are said to be on-Island.

Ms Zeta-Jones spoke with www.people.com about her husband's ordeal and told the magazine: "It makes me furious they didn't detect it earlier. He sought every option and nothing was found."

Ms Zeta-Jones, who has been married to Mr. Douglas for ten years, said she can't stand to watch her husband undergo the treatments as it makes him tired. "I know maybe I should be stronger, but emotionally I just don't want to see that. The hardest part is seeing his fatigue, because Michael is never tired."

Mr. Douglas, 65, is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy five days-a-week every three weeks to rid himself of a walnut-sized tumour at the base of his tongue.

He made his first post-announcement TV appearance on Tuesday on 'The Late Show with David Letterman', and told the talk show audience that although his cancer was late "stage four," doctors say he has an 80 percent chance of recovery.

He told People magazine that he was optimistic about his odds. "I'm treating this as a curable disease," he said. "It's a fight. I'll beat this."

But he admitted that he was uncertain about the future, and noted that "you just never think it's going to be you".

Still, after months of feeling the pain creep up on him, of having a dry throat and hoarse voice, the news of his cancer came as little surprise to both Hollywood stars.

"It wasn't a huge shock. I knew something was up. He knew something was up," said Ms Zeta-Jones.

And while she is furious about the lack of an early diagnosis, Mr. Douglas seems more understanding. "Without having to blame anybody ... these things sometimes just don't show up," he said.

It was rumoured that Mr. Douglas was living on-Island while he underwent treatments. However, his publicist Allen Burry said that was not the case.

"He's not in Bermuda", he said. "He's perfectly fine. He's doing his treatments for the next eight weeks. He does treatments five days a week and he can't travel."

The news comes just over a year after Bermuda's most famous couple announced they would be leaving the Island for "a temporary leave of absence".

Their Warwick home has been rented out and they were said to be living in an apartment in New York City.

Ms Zeta-Jones won best leading actress in a musical award for her performance in 'A Little Night Music' at the 2010 Tony Awards in June.

Mr. Douglas just completed filming 'Wall Street II: Money Never Sleeps' and was due to start filming a biography on flamboyant pianist Liberace.

He just signed on to participate on the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon, airing next week.