MTV Movie Award Winner Ben Stiller, 56, Meets With Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: Prostate Cancer Warrior Calls Zelenskyy ‘My Hero’

The New York City native met with the president at his office after Stiller visited the ruins of Irpin. “It’s one thing to see this destruction on TV or on social networks. Another thing is to see it all with your own eyes. That’s a lot more shocking,” said the Zoolander star, reports People. 

Zelenskyy told the actor, “What you saw in Irpin is definitely dreadful. But it is even worse to just imagine what is happening in the settlements that are still under temporary occupation in the east.”

We love to see survivors like Stiller thriving and making a difference in the world after beating cancer, and raising awareness around the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

 

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Ben Stiller's Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

In a 2016 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Ben Stiller shared that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014 at age 48.

He spoke about how the American Cancer Society recommendations suggest that average-risk men begin screening for the disease at age 50. (It remains unclear at what type of risk Stiller was of developing prostate cancer.) He also pointed out that had he followed the recommendations, his cancer would not have been detected. Stiller credits his doctor's initiative to begin administering the test early, and the effectiveness of the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test with saving his life.

"The PSA test is the only early screener for prostate cancer and, right now, the United States Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend (taking) the test," Stiller said in the 2016 interview. "I think the 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."

Stiller had surgery to remove his cancer, and was declared cancer-free shortly thereafter. But, he said, his message is still important: Even though the ACS recommendation is to begin screening at age 50, men should have a conversation about when is the best time to start with their doctors. Higher-risk men may have to start earlier.

There's No One Definitive Symptom for Prostate Cancer, But There Are Clues

Screening for Prostate Cancer

Men of certain ethnicities, such as Black men, are at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer, so, a doctor may opt to begin testing in the mid-40s. Men with a family history of prostate cancer may also want to consider screening early.

Screening is typically done with the PSA test. PSA is a protein secreted by the prostate gland; a large amount of PSA in a person's body can indicate that cancer cells are growing. But that is not always the case. (For example, if a man has an elevated PSA level, he has somewhere between a 20% to 40% chance of having cancer.)

The PSA test is not a perfect test, says Dr. Edwin Posadas, director of the Translational Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The PSA test is more controversial when it comes to using it to detect prostate cancer in older men. This is because most men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives if they live long enough, Dr. Geoffrey Sonn, assistant professor of urology at Stanford Medicine, tells SurvivorNet. But most men will not die from prostate cancer.

In addition, because prostate cancer is such a slow-growing type of cancer, it is much more likely that older men will die of something other than prostate cancer.

PSA Test is Not Perfect But it is Helpful

SurvivorNet reporter Sydney Schaefer contributed to this article.

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