If it seems like Ben Stiller has been a bit MIA over the past two years or so, that’s probably because he has. Sure, he’s made a few appearances here and there and has continued to work behind the scenes in Hollywood. But it’s been relatively quiet, for the most part. Now we know why as Ben Stiller has cancer.
Or at least, had cancer, thankfully.
The ‘Meet The Parents’ actor revealed his diagnosis during an appearance on ‘The Howard Stern Show’ and wrote up a lengthy blog post regarding the terrifying moment he learned of the issues with his prostrate via Medium.
“So, yeah, it’s cancer.”
My urologist segued from talking about how inconvenient it was picking his daughter up at school that morning to dropping a cancer diagnosis on me without missing a beat. Two weeks earlier, I didn’t even have an urologist.
“Yeah,” he said, in a slightly nonplussed way, gazing at the results, “I was surprised myself.”
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.
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.
Right after I got the news, still trying to process the key words echoing dimly in my head (probability of survival–vival-vival-val…” “incontinence-nence-nence-ence…), I promptly got on my computer and Googled “Men who had prostate cancer.” I had no idea what to do and needed to see some proof this was not the end of the world.
You can read the rest of Stiller’s impressive piece by clicking here.
