Ben Stiller Opens Up About Cancer Battle For First Time

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With the hope of raising awareness, Ben Stiller has finally broken his silence and opened up about his battle with life-threatening cancer.

The Mirror has reported that during a recent TV interview the award-winning actor spoke at length about his fight with prostate cancer for the first time since being diagnosed.

The Meet The Fockers star wants to make people aware of the PSA (Prostate-Specificen-Antigen) test that not only detected his illness but Stiller believes ‘saved’ his life.

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Ben was diagnosed in June 2014 and, just three months later, was lucky enough to be told he was ‘cancer free’.

As part of his treatment, the 50-year-old had his prostate removed, but deems himself ‘really fortunate.’

He said:

It’s a whole new world, so you need to educate yourself. For me, it was learning what the options were.

I’m doing great. I was really fortunate that my course of treatment was basically an operation and that was it.

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It must have been a difficult time for the Dodgeball legend to suddenly be faced with a difficult decision concerning his life and sex life, but he seemed upbeat about it.

He continued:

It’s a real thing, but when you’re confronted with the question of: “Hey, do you want to live or do you want to make sure your sex life is the best it can be?” I opted for wanting to get rid of the cancer and see what happens, and luckily everything is cool.

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It isn’t always as easy as just removing the prostate though unfortunately, there can be complications to the surgery and there are other options available for treating the disease.

The Walter Mitty actor’s surgeon, Dr. Edward Schaeffer said: 

Men can have difficulty with their urination and with their sexual function after treatment for prostate cancer. It’s not just isolated to surgery.

Today, what we do is really try to do a better job recommending active treatment for men versus just watching their cancers.

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Good on Ben for speaking out about this devastating disease. It’s extremely important for guys to keep track of any changes in their bodies and their prostate, for further information, help and advice, you can visit the NHS website.

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