 |
As the 28-year-old star of MTV's Tom Green Show prepared to go under the knife, the television cameras kept rolling.
Green is preparing a one-hour television special as a form of therapy and as a way of raising awareness about cancer.
"When we realized we were going to be making a video on it, I started to feel quite a bit better," an unusually serious Green told TV show Entertainment Tonight before his second surgery at an L.A. cancer centre.
"Hopefully we can make some people laugh about this," he said.
It's not yet known whether the Ottawa-native will strut down the red carpet at the Academy Awards on Sunday with his girlfriend, Drew Barrymore.
"I can't believe how perfect she's been. I love her and she's amazing," Green said in his ET interview.
"I find myself getting a little bit depressed sometimes and then I go hang out with Drew for a few minutes and it's just crazy. I feel so much better."
Green -- who's expected to make "a 100% recovery" -- may make it to the Oscars, manager, Howard Lapides said.
"He will surprise all of us as he always does. Tom never ceases to amaze me. He's an incredible individual," Lapides said.
Standard tests
Green's parents, Richard and Mary-Jane, reported that their son was "doing fine."
"It was a less involved operation than they thought it would be," said Green's aunt, Dianne Kirkpatrick.
Doctors are running standard tests on the lymph nodes they removed yesterday.
Meanwhile, the tomgreen.com website has countless messages posted from fans across North America, sending their love and humorous wishes for a speedy recovery.
Bob of Anchorage, Alaska, wrote: "Just wanted to say I was born with three nuts and you can have the third. I keep it in a jar as decoration on the mantle. It's all yours!"
Andre from Mississauga wrote: "Ironically enough my mother has referred to Tom Green as a crazy nut."
Kristin Fabry of Kingwood, Tex., wrote: "Who needs two nuts anyway right? I mean I don't have any and I get along fine."
Richard of Omaha, Nev., wrote: "Tom, I was sorry to hear about you being diagnosed with cancer. I have a friend who says he has the nuts of four men so I am volunteering him for a transplant operation if needed."
Green attracted national media attention when he returned to Ottawa last February with Monica Lewinsky as part of a publicity stunt.
The program they taped then will be shown April 14 on the Comedy Network.
Green will be taking a break from his MTV show during his cancer treatment and expects to return to work in a few months.
The shock comic can be seen in the film Road Trip, produced by Dreamworks and Ivan Reitman's Montecito Pictures.
-- With files from Andrew Seymour