The short answer
Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014 at age 48, after his doctor tracked a rising PSA level over about a year and a half. He had surgery to remove his prostate, was cancer-free afterward, and later wrote an essay crediting the PSA test with saving his life.
Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014 at age 48.
The cancer was found after his doctor tracked a rising PSA level over about 18 months, starting from a baseline test around age 46.
He had no symptoms and no family history of prostate cancer.
He was treated with a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy — surgery to remove the prostate — and became cancer-free.
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The full explanation.
Who he is
Ben Stiller is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director known for films such as There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder, and more recently for directing the acclaimed series Severance. In 2016, he stepped outside his comedic public image to reveal something personal: two years earlier, he had been diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer.
The diagnosis
Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014, when he was 48. In his own account, he did not fit the usual picture of someone at high risk. He had no symptoms, no family history of prostate cancer, and was not — to his knowledge — in a higher-risk group by ancestry.
What he did have was an attentive internist. Around age 46, his doctor gave him a "baseline" PSA test — a blood test measuring prostate-specific antigen — to establish his normal level. Over roughly the next year and a half, his doctor repeated the test every six months and watched the number rise. As it kept climbing, Stiller was referred to a urologist, who performed a physical exam and then a biopsy. The biopsy came back positive for cancer, with a Gleason score of 7, which describes a mid-range, moderately aggressive tumor.
The treatment
After the diagnosis, surgery was recommended. Stiller found a surgeon he trusted, Dr. Edward Schaeffer, who performed a robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy — an operation to remove the entire prostate gland. In his essay, Stiller wrote that the surgery removed all of the cancer. By the time he published his account in 2016, he described himself as cancer-free for about two years, and expressed deep gratitude. He has continued to act and direct in the years since.
What his story teaches
Stiller's experience shows a pattern worth understanding: early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. He felt fine. The only reason his cancer was found when it was is that a doctor was tracking his PSA test results over time and noticed a meaningful upward trend.
That word — trend — is important. A single PSA number is only part of the picture; watching how the level changes over months and years can reveal more than any one reading. The prostate is a small gland below the bladder, and cancer there is common, especially with age. Because it is often silent early on, screening is the main way to catch it before symptoms appear. If cancer is found, a biopsy and Gleason score help doctors judge how aggressive it is, which in turn guides whether to treat it and how. Our guide to prostate cancer treatment walks through the main options, including surgery like the one Stiller had.
It is also fair to note the honest debate around his story. When Stiller published his essay, some experts pushed back on the "saved my life" framing, pointing out that PSA screening can find slow-growing cancers that might never have caused harm — leading to treatment, and side effects, that some men could have avoided. Stiller was careful about this himself, writing that he was sharing a personal view, not a scientific recommendation, and that men over 40 should have the chance to discuss the test with their doctors. That is the balanced takeaway. Our overview of prostate cancer screening lays out both the benefits and the potential harms so you can have that conversation with real information.
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The bottom line
Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 48, found not by a single test but by a doctor tracking his PSA level over time — even though he had no symptoms and no family history. Surgery to remove his prostate left him cancer-free, and he went on to share his story to encourage men to learn about screening. His experience captures both sides of the prostate cancer conversation: screening can catch disease early, and the decision to be tested is a personal one, best made with a doctor who knows your situation.
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Common questions
▸What kind of cancer did Ben Stiller have?
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014, at age 48. He has written that he had no symptoms and no family history, and that the cancer was found through PSA testing.
▸How was his cancer detected?
His internist gave him a baseline PSA test around age 46 and then tracked the level over time. As the PSA rose over about a year and a half, he was referred to a urologist, and a biopsy confirmed prostate cancer.
▸How was he treated?
According to his own essay, he had a robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy — surgery to remove the prostate — after his cancer was assigned a Gleason score of 7. He described being cancer-free after the operation.
▸Is Ben Stiller cancer-free now?
Yes. When he published his essay in 2016, he wrote that he had been cancer-free for about two years following his surgery. He has continued to act and direct since.
▸Why did Ben Stiller write about his diagnosis?
He wrote a 2016 essay, 'The Prostate Cancer Test That Saved My Life,' to share his personal experience and encourage men over 40 to discuss PSA testing with their doctors. He was careful to say he was offering a personal view, not medical advice.
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