1. Ben Stiller
Actor Ben Stiller had no symptoms or family history of prostate cancer when he was diagnosed with the disease in June 2014 at age 48. He revealed his diagnosis publicly in October 2016 on The Howard Stern Show.
Stiller’s cancer came to light after his doctor ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test as part of a yearly physical. When Stiller’s test result came back high, his doctor ordered a follow-up test six months later. And when that test result was even higher, Stiller had several more tests and exams that confirmed he had prostate cancer. He subsequently had surgery to remove his prostate gland, and he continues to have PSA tests every six months to screen for recurrence of the cancer.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force discourages the use of routine prostate cancer testing, saying it leads to overdiagnosis — and overtreatment — of low-risk prostate cancers.
But, said Stiller in an essay he published on Medium, “Taking the PSA test saved my life.” Today, at age 50, Stiller is cancer-free.