Death thumb|upright|Puccini, 1924 A chain smoker of Toscano cigars and cigarettes, Puccini began to complain of a chronic sore throat towards the end of 1923. A diagnosis of throat cancer led his doctors to recommend a new and experimental radiation therapy treatment which was being offered in Brussels. Puccini and his wife never understood how serious the cancer was, as the news was revealed only to his son.
Death thumb|upright|Puccini, 1924 A chain smoker of Toscano cigars and cigarettes, Puccini began to complain of a chronic sore throat towards the end of 1923. A diagnosis of throat cancer led his doctors to recommend a new and experimental radiation therapy treatment which was being offered in Brussels. Puccini and his wife never understood how serious the cancer was, as the news was revealed only to his son.