Ben Stiller is one of the funniest guys in Hollywood, but he went through a very dark time after he was diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer back in 2014 (though he didn’t reveal his health battle until two years later). The “Zoolander” star underwent surgery to remove the “immediately aggressive” disease. While he’s thankfully made a full recovery, he and his surgeon, Dr. Ted Schaeffer, hoped Stiller’s experience could be used to encourage men to get regular checks to stay on top of their health.
Appearing on “The Howard Stern Show,” Stiller got frank about what he went through before, during, and after his diagnosis and treatment. He was lucky enough not to have had any loss of sexual function or problems with urination after undergoing surgery. In fact, he even had his first erection only a day after going under the knife. It was certainly a cause for celebration in the actor’s book.
“When the first erection happened post-surgery, we all celebrated,” he recalled. It came out of the blue for me. I had no idea.”
Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer purely by chance. While most guidelines recommend testing men regularly once they reach the age of 50, Stiller had a PSA, or prostate-specific antigen test, much earlier. It was a good thing he did, as it caught it early enough to treat the cancer effectively.
“It’s a very controversial subject, the PSA test. The PSA test is the only early screener for prostate cancer and, right now, the United States Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend to take the test,” Stiller said at the time. “I think American Cancer Society says you should discuss it at 50. If I hadn’t taken the test – my doctor started giving it to me at 46 – I would not have known. Right now, I still wouldn’t have known.”
