Actor James Michael Tyler, best known for his role as "Gunther," the lovesick barista on "Friends," has revealed that he did not attend the show's May reunion in person because he is currently battling stage 4 cancer.
On Monday, Tyler shared that he "was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, which had spread to my bones" on Today.
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Tyler, 59, revealed that he has been "dealing with that diagnosis for almost the past three years" but that by the time he received his September 2018 diagnosis after an annual checkup, the cancer had already spread to other parts of his body. "So eventually, you know, it's gonna probably get me," he said.
Initially Tyler was able to manage his illness via a hormone therapy. "All I had to do was take a pill in the morning and the night, and boom, life was pretty much normal," he shared, but the cancer mutated "right at the time of the pandemic" and spread to his bones and spine, causing paralysis in the lower part of his body.
The "Friends" actor shared that he is currently undergoing chemotherapy, and urged others to get regular screenings. "There are other options available to men if they catch it before me. Next time you go in for just a basic exam or your yearly checkup, please ask your doctor for a PSA test," he said, signaling that the test for the prostate-specific antigen can help diagnose prostate cancer before it spreads.
"If it spreads beyond the prostate to the bones, which is most prevalent in my form, it can be a lot more difficult to deal with," noted Tyler. "I don't want people to have to go through what I've been going through. This is not... an easy process."
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