Catherine Zeta-Jones conceded recently that she was a “mess” after her husband, Michael Douglas, was diagnosed with stage-four throat cancer in 2010.

“I was a mess. I’ll be quite frank, I was a mess,” Zeta-Jones told doctors at the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies’ fifth World Congress.

“When I’m married to a man who has such a conviction for life … he fights to make the wrongs right. For the first time he was fighting for his life,” she recalled during remarks at the opening ceremony in New York.

The And So it Goes actor, who was misdiagnosed four times before the final diagnosis was delivered, has been cancer-free since January 2011.

“In every sense of the word. I’m very fortunate to be here today,” said the father of two. He and Zeta-Jones have an 11-year-daughter, Carys, and a 12-year-old son, Dylan.

“We can only imagine what the next century will bring. Thank you for saving my life,” he told the medical team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was treated in 2010.

The couple are certainly enjoying life today. The power-couple separated for a brief time last year, but reconciled several months later.

The Behind the Candelabra actor recently said he is learning to appreciate his wife more and more as he ages.

”A lot of it has to do with age. When you’ve accomplished a certain amount in your career, you’re not so focused on your ambitions. It makes you appreciate – and hopefully you do that sooner rather than later – the value of your partner,” he said.

He often mentions the importance of family and the strength he garnered from relationships during his battle with cancer.

“All of a sudden the affection from my family, from my friends, and from my fans hit me at a much deeper level than I would have ever imagined before,” Douglas told Today show host, Matt Lauer, in 2011. “And it gave me a really new appreciation of just how valuable, how precious good friends are and family.”

“There’s a much deeper feeling,” he said. “And I’ve talked to other cancer survivors about this, that – that happens, that you just really, really appreciate what’s important in life.”

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