Ben Stiller Talks Life After Recovering From Prostate Cancer
Ben Stiller is feeling happy now that he has recovered from his prostate cancer.
Stiller, 51, recently revealed that he is three years cancer free. The actor stopped by the "Today" show on Wednesday to promote his new film and offer an update on his health.
"I'm three years now cancer-free and I'm really happy that getting the word out there about the PSA test has actually made a little bit of a difference," he told host Matt Lauer.
The "Brad's Status" star was diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 48. He talked about his illness for the first time during an interview with Howard Stern last year. According to Stiller, his diagnosis was a surprise for him. "It came out of the blue for me," said Stiller. "I had no idea."
Stiller's doctor began to suspect his cancer after he underwent a simple blood test for his annual physical called Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. Since high levels were shown on his two separate PSA tests, he was advised to undergo additional tests that included a biopsy and an MRI. Those tests finally confirmed he was positive of prostate cancer.
The "Saturday Night Live" alum is scheduled to return to the "Today" show this November for a Dodgeball celebrity showdown/fundraiser just outside the program's studio in New York. The money that will be raised from the event will be donated to the actor's Stiller Foundation, a nonprofit charitable institution that usually focuses on education. However, Stiller announced that a portion of the funds will also be dedicated to hurricane victims.
"In light of what's been going on with the hurricanes we're actually gonna take a portion of the money and buy about half a million bottles of clean drinking water for the people in Florida, Houston and Flint, Michigan, too," he continued.
