Funnyman Ben Stiller revealed on Tuesday’s Howard Stern Show that he recently had a battle with prostate cancer.
Appearing on the show with his surgeon, Dr. Edward Schaeffer, Stiller said that he was diagnosed two years ago with “immediately aggressive” prostate cancer at age 48.
Now 50, this is the first time Stiller has opened up about the disease; he encouraged listeners to talk openly with their doctors and get tested at a younger age. Stiller also penned a more personal, comedic essay on Medium, titled “The Prostate Cancer Test That Saved My Life.”
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“As my new, world-altering doctor spoke about cell cores and Gleason scores, probabilities of survival, incontinence and impotence, why surgery would be good and what kind would make the most sense, his voice literally faded out like every movie or TV show about a guy being told he had cancer… a classic Walter White moment, except I was me, and no one was filming anything at all,” wrote Stiller.
“I got diagnosed with prostate cancer Friday, June 13th, 2014. On September 17th of that year I got a test back telling me I was cancer free. The three months in between were a crazy roller coaster ride with which about 180,000 men a year in America can identify.”
Throughout the article, the actor provides links and helpful information about prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and the cancer itself.
“It came out of the blue for me,” Stiller said to Howard Stern. “I had no idea.”
After the diagnosis and the analysis of options, Stiller eventually opted to have the tumour removed by Dr. Schaeffer. The surgeon was successful and Stiller has now been cancer-free for two years — but he still gets a PSA every six months to be certain.
Because his cancer was caught very early, Stiller considers himself lucky. He says in his Medium essay that he’s grateful for his internist, who gave him a “baseline” PSA test when he was only 46.
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“Taking the PSA test saved my life. Literally,” he wrote. “That’s why I am writing this now. There has been a lot of controversy over the test in the last few years. Articles and op-eds on whether it is safe, studies that seem to be interpreted in many different ways, and debates about whether men should take it all. I am not offering a scientific point of view here, just a personal one, based on my experience.
The Canadian Cancer Society says prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men. The organization follows the same protocol and age recommendations as the American Cancer Society, with PSA testing encouraged at the age of 50.
Other celebrities who’ve been impacted by prostate cancer include Stiller’s Meet the Parents co-star Robert De Niro, Charlton Heston, Ian McKellan and Mandy Patinkin.
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